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MLB - Kansas City Royals +155 score upset win over Oswalt, Astros
Kansas City Royals +155 score upset win over Oswalt, Astros
Game Time: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 12:00 AM ET
Roy Oswalt has been over-valued all season for the Astros, and that will pay off for the dog bettors Wednesday when Kansas City makes it two straight over Houston.
The Royals took Game 1 of this series last night in Houston and they can use that to build some momentum following their recent five-game losing streak.
The losing skid came right after a four-game winning streak and Kansas City has been a very streaky team this season. The offense has improved of late, scoring five runs or more in seven of their last nine games.
The Astros fell to 16-19 at home with that defeat on Tuesday, so the homefield edge is not a big advantage this season. They are big favorites tonight based on the fact Roy Oswalt is pitching but he has been far from a solid proposition this season. He is having one of his worst seasons and has been extremely inconsistent from the start.
Oswalt is coming off a complete game, but he allowed five runs while throwing a season-high 126 pitches. He is 2-2 with a 4.26 ERA at home and Houston is just 3-4 in his seven home starts. Oswalt is allowing opponents to hit .287 at Minute Maid Park on the year.
He will be opposed by Luke Hochevar who is coming off another poor performance, but only two of his six starts this season have been really rough ones. The Royals are 3-3 in his starts and following a horrible performance in his opening start, his ERA is a more respectable 4.60 in his last five outings with two of those being quality starts.
Houston is hitting just .252 over its last 10 games, including a mere .237 against righthanded pitching. Conversely, the Royals are hitting .267 and .269 respectively. The Royals are 7-2 in their last nine interleague games against a team with a losing record while the Astros are 1-6 in their last seven interleague games against a team with a losing record. The value is in place for a big underdog winner tonight.
Free Pick: Royals +155