Royals host the Astros, aim to continue home win streak

Houston Astros (4-9, fifth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (8-4, second in the AL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Hunter Brown (0-1, 6.43 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, eight strikeouts); Royals: Brady Singer (1-0, 0.68 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 14 strikeouts)

: Astros -135, Royals +114; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals will try to keep their seven-game home win streak intact when they play the Houston Astros.

Kansas City has a 7-2 record at home and an 8-4 record overall. The Royals rank fifth in the majors with 15 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.

Houston has a 4-9 record overall and a 2-4 record on the road. Astros hitters have a collective .419 slugging percentage to rank eighth in the majors.

The matchup Thursday is the third time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Maikel Garcia leads Kansas City with three home runs while slugging .479. MJ Melendez is 11-for-32 with three home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez has three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 13-for-36 with four doubles, three home runs and three RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 8-2, .269 batting average, 2.12 ERA, outscored opponents by 36 runs

Astros: 4-6, .273 batting average, 4.34 ERA, even run differential

INJURIES: Royals: Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Jake Brentz: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (back), Carlos Hernandez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Astros: Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Framber Valdez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shawn Dubin: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (forearm), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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