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

The Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros square off on Wednesday with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Minute Maid Park Park in Houston and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Brad Keller (3-9, 4.24 ERA) will start for the Royals while Cristian Javier (6-3, 2.58 ERA) will get the nod for the Astros.

Houston (53-27) is riding high on an eight-game winning streak heading into tonight’s showdown and held off the Royals for a 9-7 victory last night. The Astros fell behind early but pulled ahead when both Jeremy Pena and Alex Bregman went yard in the fifth. Clinging onto an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth, Yordan Alvarez let it fly with a solo homer to tack on an extra insurance run.

Kansas City (29-50) set the tone early in the teeter-totter affair but couldn’t quite maintain its grip on the ballgame. A two-run bomb by Bobby Witt in the top of the third put them up 4-2 and that would be the last lead they’d enjoy for the rest of the contest. Whit Merrifield sparked a mini-rally by tripling and later scoring in the top of the ninth, but Houston closer Rafael Montero shut the door on any further comeback attempt.

Royals vs. Astros

Pitchers: Brady Kelly vs. Cristian Javier
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 (-135), Royals +1.5 (+115)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Astros -280, Royals +235

Moneyline pick: Astros -280

The Royals have given them a test in back-to-back games, but we’re still going with the Astros on the moneyline. Keller’s three victories this season have come in games where he had to be nearly perfect and not allow any earned runs. He will not get that type of outing against the Houston batters tonight.

Player prop pick: Yordan Alvarez over 0.5 home runs (+290)

Alvarez has gone yard in back-to-back games of this series and we’ll predict he gets another one tonight. Roll with the hot bat again.

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