Jac Caglianone leads the Kansas City Royals (28-41) into a contest against the Houston Astros (31-39) after his four-hit showing in a 6-4 loss to the Rangers. The Astros are favored (-119) in this game against the underdog Royals (-101), which starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday. Tatsuya Imai starts for Houston while Kansas City will counter with Luinder Avila.

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Astros vs. Royals betting lines

• Favorite: Astros (-119)
• Underdog: Royals (-101)
• Over/under: 9

Astros betting info, hitting leaders, & pitching

Astros betting info

• The Astros have gone 8-14 in games they were listed as the moneyline favorite (winning 36.4% of those games).
• Houston has a 7-11 record (winning only 38.9% of its games) when it has played as moneyline favorites of -119 or shorter.
• Based on this game’s moneyline, the Astros’ implied win probability is 54.3%.
• In the 70 games in which bookmakers have set an over/under for Houston, it has combined with opponents to go over the total 37 times (37-29-4).
• The Astros have collected a 32-38-0 record against the spread this season (covering 45.7% of the time).

Astros hitting info

• Yordan Alvarez has put up a team-high batting average of .316, and leads the Astros in home runs (22) and runs batted in (48).
• In MLB, Alvarez ranks second in home runs and seventh in RBI.
• Alvarez brings a two-game hitting streak into this game. In his last five games he is hitting .313 with a home run, four walks and four RBIs.
• Christian Walker has made the most of his opportunities as he leads his team with 48 runs batted in.
• Walker ranks 12th in home runs among hitters in MLB action and seventh in RBI.
• Isaac Paredes is hitting .236 with 12 doubles, nine home runs and 26 walks.
• Cam Smith is hitting .220 with 10 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 26 walks.

Astros pitching rankings

• The pitching staff for the Astros has a collective 8.6 K/9, which ranks 13th in MLB.
• Houston’s 4.86 team ERA ranks 29th among all MLB pitching staffs.
• The Astros have the fourth-highest WHIP in the majors (1.436).
• Astros pitchers combine to surrender the 25th-fewest home runs in baseball (89 total, 1.3 per game).
• Houston fell to the Angels 3-2 in its last game with seven strikeouts while allowing seven hits.

Royals betting info, hitting leaders, & pitching

Royals betting info

• The Royals have entered the game as underdogs 39 times this season and won 14, or 35.9%, of those games.
• Kansas City has entered 27 games this season as the underdog by -101 or more and is 10-17 in those contests.
• The Royals have a 50.2% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
• Kansas City’s games have gone over the total in 30 of its 69 chances.
• The Royals are 30-39-0 ATS in their 69 games with a spread this season.

Royals hitting info

• Bobby Witt Jr. leads Kansas City with nine home runs this season. He’s batting .278 with 27 RBI.
• Witt’s home run total ranks 70th in the majors, and he is 115th in RBI.
• Maikel Garcia has 63 hits and an OBP of .323 to go with a slugging percentage of .378 this season.
• Garcia ranks 225th in homers and 152nd in RBI among all hitters in the major leagues.
• Vinnie Pasquantino is among the top hitters for Kansas City with a .223 average, six homers and 31 RBI.
• Pasquantino enters this game on a six-game hitting streak. During his last 10 games he is hitting .300 with three doubles, a home run, five walks and five RBIs.
• Caglianone leads Kansas City with a .279 batting average. He’s also hit eight homers and has 19 RBI.
• Caglianone brings a three-game hitting streak into this matchup. In his last five games he is hitting .688 with two doubles, two home runs, two walks and five RBIs.

Royals pitching rankings

• The Royals average the 17th-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.3) in the majors this season.
• Kansas City has the 21st-ranked ERA (4.38) in the majors this season.
• The Royals have a combined WHIP of 1.384 as a pitching staff, which ranks 21st in MLB.
• The Royals have given up the 24th-fewest long balls so far this season with 83 home runs allowed.
• Last time out, Kansas City fell to the Rangers 6-4. Its pitchers compiled nine strikeouts and 11 hits allowed.