Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 4/25/25, 4:03 PM  by Carlos Zabala in MLB Picks

Sweeping the weak Rockies, who resemble a minor league team, is something the Royals had to accomplish more than merit. They finally did so, winning both games of Thursday's doubleheader by 3 and 4 runs. Of course, winning is key, and while the good news for the Royals is that veteran captain, Venezuelan catcher Salvador Perez, increased his AVG with an excellent series, going 6-for-12, the bad news for the Royals is this: they're not hitting home runs.

They remain the lowest home run-hitting team in MLB, with just 12, in the most key metric in baseball today. For this reason and more, it's logical that the Astros start as favorites to win Game 1 against Kansas City.

The Astros rebounded from their slow start: they won three of their last four series and blew away the Blue Jays, sweeping them with pitching that allowed the Jays to only score two runs in 27 innings.

The Astros' home runs were plentiful in the last series at Daikin Park, almost all of them to left field. They will face Lugo, who had a good 2024 season but will be average in 2025 and has a 1-3 record this season.