The Kansas City Royals (75-59) and Houston Astros (71-62) meet Thursday as they swing into a 4-game series. First pitch from Minute Maid Park will be at 8:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the Royals vs. Astros odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Royals lead 3-0
The on-a-roll Royals are coming off a big 4-game set at the Cleveland Guardians. Kansas City took 3 of those games, is 10-4 since Aug. 14 and is now just 1 game behind Cleveland in the race for the AL Central flag.
Houston is back at home after a 3-4 road trip with stops in Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Astros went 11-1 from Aug. 6-19 but are just 3-6 since. Those last 9 games have seen the club lose a trio of 1-run games.