Astros vs. Royals Betting Odds, Pitching Matchup – August 29, 2024

Coming off a three-homer game in a win over the Phillies, Yordan Alvarez leads the Houston Astros (71-62) into action as -154 favorites against the Kansas City Royals (75-59). First pitch from Minute Maid Park is set for 8:10 p.m. ET Thursday, live on SCHN. Houston’s Hunter Brown gets the start, and he’ll go against Kansas City’s Brady Singer.

Here is our betting preview for this contest, and find all of our MLB betting picks, too!

Astros vs. Royals Betting Lines

• Favorite: Astros (-154)
• Underdog: Royals (+130)
• Over/under: 8.5

Astros vs. Royals Betting Insights

• The Astros have won in 53, or 55.8%, of the 95 contests they have been named as odds-on favorites in this year.
• This year Houston has won 27 of 40 games when listed as at least -154 on the moneyline.
• The Astros have an implied victory probability of 60.6% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
• The Royals have won 31 of the 66 games they were the moneyline underdog this season (47%).
• When playing as a moneyline underdog with odds of +130 or longer, Kansas City has a 7-11 record (winning just 38.9% of its games).
• Based on this matchup’s moneyline, the Royals have an implied win probability of 43.5%.

Astros vs. Royals Hitting Leaders

• Alvarez is batting .311 this season with 28 home runs, both rank first among Houston hitters.
• Alvarez ranks 11th in Major League Baseball in home runs, and 39th in RBI.
• Jose Altuve has collected 158 hits this season and has an OBP of .351. He’s slugging .444 on the year.
• Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 28 home runs and has racked up a team-best batting average of .346.
• Witt’s home run total ranks 11th in the majors, and he is fifth in RBI.
• Vinnie Pasquantino’s 97 runs batted in lead his team.

Astros vs. Royals Pitching Rankings

• The Astros have a 9.3 K/9 this season as a pitching staff, second-best in baseball.
• The Astros have the seventh-best ERA (3.78) in the majors this season.
• The Astros rank 13th in MLB with a combined 1.250 WHIP this season.
• The Royals pitching staff is 24th in the majors with a collective 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
• Kansas City has the 11th-ranked team ERA among all MLB pitching staffs (3.89).
• Pitchers for the Royals combine for the 17th-ranked WHIP in the majors (1.273).