Houston rolled into Kauffman and stole both ends of Saturday's doubleheader — 10-8 in the matinee and 8-7 in the nightcap — to flip what looked like a competitive weekend into a sweep watch. First pitch Sunday is 1:10 PM CT, and the Astros hand the ball to a guy who has quietly been their best starter.
Spencer Arrighetti is 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA and his last time out he punched out 7 Angels over 6 innings. The Astros are 8-2 against the spread in his starts this season, which is the kind of stat that gets sharps paying attention even when Houston is the road favorite. Stephen Kolek has been steady enough for Kansas City (3-1, 3.14), but his last outing was a grind — 8 hits over 5 innings against Texas — and he can't afford to spot Houston runs.
The Royals' injury situation is the real story heading in. Vinnie Pasquantino exited Saturday's game with a right hand/hamate issue after grimacing on a pop-up to third, and hamate stuff tends to mean weeks, not days. He's officially day-to-day, but Kansas City already had Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Seth Lugo, and Carlos Estevez on the shelf, plus Kyle Isbel out with a Grade 3 plantar fasciitis tear. That's a rotation and a lineup card running on fumes.
- Day-To-DayPeter Lambert SP — Lambert (5-4) earned the win Friday over the Athletics after tossing 5.1 innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits and four walks while fanning four.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILYainer Diaz C — Diaz (oblique) could be reinstated from the injured list during the Astros' upcoming series versus Detroit, which begins Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILLaMonte Wade Jr. 1B — Wade left Monday's game against the Angels with right hamstring soreness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILNick Allen SS — Allen was removed from Sunday's game against the Athletics due to left hamstring discomfort.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — Shewmake (groin) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros announced Friday that Sousa (elbow) has begun a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — The Astros announced Friday that McCullers (shoulder) began a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayVinnie Pasquantino 1B — The Royals announced that Pasquantino sustained a right hamate injury in Saturday's game against the Astros.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Simonelli SP — no
- Day-To-DayJavier Vaz 2B — Vaz (fingers) has produced a .238/.304/.262 slash line with zero home runs and three stolen bases in 10 games since being activated from Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 7-day injured list April 22.
- Day-To-DayTyson Guerrero RP — no
- 7-Day ILSeth Lugo SP — The Royals placed Lugo on the 7-day concussion list Friday.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Isbel CF — Isbel has been diagnosed with a Grade 3 tear of a portion of his left plantar fasciitis.
- 15-Day-ILCole Ragans SP — Ragans (elbow) had a throwing session cut short Friday and will undergo additional testing, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.
- 15-Day-ILKris Bubic SP — Bubic (elbow/shoulder) suffered a setback after beginning his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Omaha, MLB.com reports.
Houston isn't exactly healthy either — Hunter Brown, Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, Ronel Blanco, and Carlos Correa are all on the IL — but Yainer Diaz is tracking toward a return for the Detroit series Monday, and the offense has scored 18 runs over the last 2 games. When Arrighetti is on the mound, they don't need many.
Kansas City has lost 4 in a row, is 28-43, and is staring at a Sunday matinee against the hottest starter on either side with their middle-of-the-order bat possibly headed to the IL. The Astros are 33-39 but playing like a team that's finally figured out which arms it can trust. Tough spot for the home team to stop the bleeding.