Royals aim to break slide in matchup with the Astros

Houston Astros (33-39, fourth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (28-43, fifth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Sunday, 2:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Spencer Arrighetti (7-1, 2.21 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 53 strikeouts); Royals: Stephen Kolek (3-1, 3.14 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals -121, Astros +102; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals enter a matchup with the Houston Astros as losers of four games in a row.

Kansas City has a 16-21 record at home and a 28-43 record overall. The Royals have the 10th-ranked team ERA in the AL at 4.50.

Houston is 33-39 overall and 17-20 in road games. The Astros are 16-35 in games when they have allowed at least one home run.

The teams meet Sunday for the third time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez leads the Royals with nine home runs while slugging .336. Jac Caglianone is 14 for 33 with two home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.

Isaac Paredes has 12 doubles, nine home runs and 33 RBI for the Astros. Yordan Alvarez is 17 for 37 with a double and three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 5-5, .276 batting average, 4.60 ERA, even run differential

Astros: 6-4, .241 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs

INJURIES: Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino: day-to-day (arm), Kyle Isbel: 10-Day IL (foot), Seth Lugo: 7-Day IL (head), Cole Ragans: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 15-Day IL (elbow), Nick Mears: 15-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 15-Day IL (foot), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Astros: Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Yainer Diaz: 10-Day IL (abdominal), Hunter Brown: 60-Day IL (shoulder), LaMonte Wade: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Allen: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Bennett Sousa: 15-Day IL (elbow), Braden Shewmake: 10-Day IL (groin), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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