Astros at Royals
The pitcher who currently is the best in baseball will be on the mound for the hottest team in the major leagues when the Houston Astros visit the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for the third contest of their four-game series. Undefeated ace Dallas Keuchel leads the majors in victories (nine), ERA (1.67) and WHIP (0.87) as he looks to help the Astros win for the 12th time in 13 contests.
Houston failed to match the club mark of 12 straight victories when a bullpen meltdown on Tuesday allowed Kansas City to score six times over the final two innings en route to a 9-7 victory. Keuchel has won 11 consecutive decisions dating back to last season and is vying to match the franchise mark shared by Mark Portugal (1993) and Wade Miller (2002). Kansas City's Mike Moustakas belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a strong effort in which he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Whit Merrifield stroked a tying three-run double in the eighth and finished 2-for-5 one night after his career-best 19-game hitting streak was halted.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (9-0, 1.67 ERA) vs. Royals LH Jason Vargas (7-3, 2.08)
Keuchel also leads the majors in opponents' slugging percentage (.275) and ranks second in both batting average against (.183) and opponents' on-base percentage (.238). The 29-year-old, who is the first Astros pitcher to start 9-0 since Roger Clemens in 2004, hasn't served up a homer in his last four starts while striking out 28 in 23 innings. Keuchel is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA in six career starts against the Royals - including a win on April 8 in which he gave up one run and two hits over seven frames - and has shut down Salvador Perez (2-for-18) and Alex Gordon (1-for-10).
Vargas is second in the majors in ERA in a strong bounce-back season now that he is fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in the summer of 2015. The 34-year-old tossed his seventh career shutout in his last turn, when he gave up seven hits against Cleveland. Vargas beat the Astros on April 7 as he allowed one run and six hits over six innings to improve to 1-2 with a 6.84 ERA in five career starts and has struggled with Carlos Beltran (6-for-12, one homer) and Jose Altuve (5-for-12, one homer).
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals 1B Eric Hosmer is 5-for-9 with three doubles in the series and 15-for-38 during his nine-game hitting streak.
2. Astros INF/OF Marwin Gonzalez (left hand) sat out Tuesday's contest but expects to return Wednesday.
3. Gordon homered on Tuesday for the first time since Sept. 25.