Royals vs. Astros: Picks, predictions, how to watch Tuesday’s game

The Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros square off on Tuesday with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Zack Greinke (2-4, 4.38 ERA) will throw for the Royals, and the Astros will start Luis Garcia (6-5, 3.54 ERA).

Kansas City (29-49) held a 5-0 lead in yesterday’s game but let it slip away heading into Game 2 of this four-game set. Greinke will make start No. 13 in his second stint with the Royals, allowing one run over six innings in each of his last two starts. Kansas City has scored 3.9 runs per game, which is the fourth-fewest in the MLB. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the team with 39 RBI.

Houston (52-27) will take a seven-game winning streak into this matchup, and Yordan Alvarez hit a walk-off home run to win the first game of this series. Garcia will make his 15th start of the season and allowed 1 run over 5.1 innings in a victory over the New York Yankees in his last time out. Houston has the fifth-best slugging percentage (.744), and Alvarez ranks second in the league with 24 homers.

Royals vs. Astros

Pitchers: Zach Greinke vs. Luis Garcia
First pitch: 8:10 p.m. ET
Royals local broadcast: Bally Sports Kansas City
Astros local broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Astros -1.5 (-125)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Astros -250, Royals +210

Moneyline pick: Royals +210

Kansas City is getting fantastic odds with Greinke on the mound. Houston certainly has the offensive edge in this spot, but that can be negated somewhat if Greinke can pitch like he has over his previous two starts. If he does that, the Royals are in a good position to pull off the upset victory for a large payout.

Player prop pick: Luis Garcia Under 5.5 strikeouts (+100)

Garcia has impressive strikeout numbers with a 9.4 K/9 this season, but for as bad as the Royals offense has been, they do not strike out very often. Kansas City strikes out the fifth-fewest times per game (7.6) this season, and there’s a decent chance Garcia falls short of this strikeout total.

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