Astros at Royals
The Houston Astros will try to complete a perfect road trip and extend their winning streak to 11 contests when they finish a three-game series at the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Alex Bregman and Max Stassi hit three-run homers to lead the Astros to a 10-2 win in Saturday's matchup, which pushed Houston to within one victory of matching last season's longest streak.
"I'm really happy with how consistently the guys are showing up expecting to win, and then going out and doing it," Houston manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after his team improved to 10-0 on the trip. "We're a hard team to beat right now." The Astros' 11-game run last season came to an end in Kansas City, but the current Royals are a struggling bunch and have lost 11 of their last 12. Whit Merrifield remains one of Kansas City's few bright spots and he had two hits, a stolen base and an RBI in Saturday's loss. Houston seeks the 11th straight win behind Lance McCullers Jr., who will be opposed by rookie Brad Keller for the Royals.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3, 3.83 ERA) vs. Royals RH Brad Keller (1-2, 2.31)
McCullers lasted seven innings for the fifth time in 2018 in a win at Oakland on Tuesday, limiting the Athletics to two runs and five hits. He kept the ball in the park for the eighth time in his last 10 starts while lowering his road ERA to 5.02. Salvador Perez is 2-for-6 with two home runs against McCullers, who boasts a 2.14 mark in three career starts versus the Royals.
Keller's transition to the rotation has been relatively smooth, although he surrendered five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings at Oakland last Sunday. He was able to escape with a no-decision after yielding two runs and owns a 2.84 ERA in three starts. The 22-year-old, who is facing the Astros for the first time, allowed three runs in 13 innings at home in 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston is an MLB-best 28-11 on the road.
2. Bregman is 3-for-8 with two homers and five RBIs in the series.
3. Perez is 0-for-4 in each of his last three games.