Royals aim to break road skid, face the Astros

Updated Sep. 16, 2026 4:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Kansas City Royals (66-85, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (76-75, first in the AL West)

Houston; Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Daniel Lynch (5-5, 3.52 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 49 strikeouts); Astros: Cristian Javier (2-5, 5.50 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 55 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -144, Royals +119; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals will look to break their three-game road slide in a matchup with the Houston Astros.

Houston has a 38-38 record in home games and a 76-75 record overall. The Astros have a 35-9 record in games when they did not give up a home run.

Kansas City is 66-85 overall and 27-49 on the road. Royals hitters are batting a collective .245, which ranks fourth in the AL.

The teams play Wednesday for the fifth time this season. The Astros lead the season series 3-1.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 39 home runs while slugging .594. Isaac Paredes is 10 for 37 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 30 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs while hitting .280 for the Royals. Carter Jensen is 11 for 36 with six doubles, a triple and three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .228 batting average, 4.13 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

Royals: 3-7, .202 batting average, 3.60 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Mike Burrows: 60-Day IL (elbow), Steven Okert: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Brice Matthews: 60-Day IL (knee), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Connor Seabold: 60-Day IL (lat), Beck Way: 15-Day IL (back), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luinder Avila: 60-Day IL (forearm), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.