INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
ETLATYOBERLON
FinalFinal lineupsAL Central / AL West

Kansas City Royals 2, Houston Astros 4

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

8:10 PM ET · Daikin ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 17, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 8, 5:01 AM ET
T-Score31
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 31
2
2–4
FINAL · 9 innings
Houston Astros
81–81 · 1st AL West · T-Score 52
4
T-Score52
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Michael WachaKC
StarterLoss
6.0441299
Hunter BrownHOU
StarterWin
5.02131091
Josh HaderHOU
ReliefSave
1.0100113
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
KCKansas City Royals000011000240
HOUHouston Astros101020000440
Top hitters
Jeremy Peña3-for-4 · 2 HR · 2 RBI
Yordan Alvarez1-for-2 · 1 HR · 2 RBI · 2 BB
Vinnie Pasquantino1-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Carter Jensen1-for-4 · 1 RBI
Bobby Witt Jr.1-for-4

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsThe starters are close overall, but Wacha owns the better strikeout and control profile.
Offense vs handAstrosHouston has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
LineupRoyalsKansas's official lineup includes 6 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenAstrosHouston has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
PowerAstrosHouston has 198 home runs this season, 43 more than Kansas.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.25
39th
WHIP
1.11
36th
K/9
7.24
164th
BB/9
2.36
46th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.18
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
182.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.25
QUALITY
START %
80%
(4 of 5)
DAYS
REST
7
HOU
Hunter Brown RHP
Hunter Brown
Houston Astros
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.52
34th
WHIP
1.30
104th
K/9
9.78
26th
BB/9
4.50
206th
P-Score62i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.08
55th
OPS/R
–
IP
92.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.18
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Brown strikes out 2.5 more batters per nine innings.
·Wacha allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.11 WHIP compared with 1.30.
·Wacha has produced a quality start in 80% of outings versus 40%.
·Wacha owns a 2.25 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 3.18 for Brown.

Wacha’s Control Could Matter in Houston

Houston leads the AL West at exactly .500, which says as much about the division as it does about the Astros. Kansas City sends Michael Wacha to the mound with a 3.25 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 69% quality-start rate, giving the Royals a reliable way into the game. Hunter Brown brings more swing-and-miss at 9.8 K/9, but his 4.5 BB/9 creates traffic. Neither club is in form: both are 4–6 over the last 10, and Houston has lost three straight. Houston’s lower bullpen ERA could make the middle innings especially important.

Written by PitcherStat ·

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Wacha arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam28%93.1
Changeup25%80.6
Cutter15%89.5
Sinker14%93.2
Curveball10%75.9
Slider9%85.0
Brown arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker31%96.0
Four-seam30%96.2
Knuckle Curve18%83.4
Changeup9%87.5
Slider9%90.7
Cutter2%93.0
Slurve1%86.9

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Royals vs RHP (Hunter Brown)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Astros vs RHP (Michael Wacha)
8th
in MLB
0.739OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 15, 5:10 PM ET
KCKC
.734
−15 ptsOPS edge
HOUHOU
.749

Slight edge: HOU

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Hunter Brown
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Brown (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.837No MLB historyNo history
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7830-for-1Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.882No MLB historyNo history
4Maikel GarciaR3B52.7153.6503-for-3Very small sample
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.8262-for-5Very small sample
6Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.7210-for-2Very small sample
7John RaveLRF57.7446.785No MLB historyNo history
8Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.6521-for-5Very small sample
9Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.660No MLB historyNo history
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · No MLB history · No history76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score4Maikel Garcia 3B · R.268 / .715 · 3 HRvs hand .650 · 3-for-3 · Very small sample52H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 2-for-5 · Very small sample69H-Score6Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score7John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history57H-Score8Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · 1-for-5 · Very small sample36H-Score9Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score
Houston AstrosOfficial lineupvs RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Jeremy PeñaRSS62.80222.8362-for-5Very small sample
2Yordan AlvarezLDH951.033421.1142-for-4Very small sample
3Isaac ParedesR3B69.80725.8150-for-3Very small sample
4Jose AltuveR2B50.70116.6721-for-2Very small sample
5Yainer DiazRC65.77214.7601-for-6Very small sample
6Daulton VarshoLCF47.63612.6821-for-2Very small sample
7Christian WalkerR1B66.72629.7143-for-3Very small sample
8Cam SmithRRF60.66921.6681-for-2Very small sample
9LaMonte Wade Jr.LLF40.6544.6531-for-6Very small sample
1Jeremy Peña SS · R.277 / .802 · 22 HRvs hand .836 · 2-for-5 · Very small sample62H-Score2Yordan Alvarez DH · L.316 / 1.033 · 42 HRvs hand 1.114 · 2-for-4 · Very small sample95H-Score3Isaac Paredes 3B · R.262 / .807 · 25 HRvs hand .815 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample69H-Score4Jose Altuve 2B · R.250 / .701 · 16 HRvs hand .672 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample50H-Score5Yainer Diaz C · R.285 / .772 · 14 HRvs hand .760 · 1-for-6 · Very small sample65H-Score6Daulton Varsho CF · L.221 / .636 · 12 HRvs hand .682 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample47H-Score7Christian Walker 1B · R.226 / .726 · 29 HRvs hand .714 · 3-for-3 · Very small sample66H-Score8Cam Smith RF · R.210 / .669 · 21 HRvs hand .668 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score9LaMonte Wade Jr. LF · L.205 / .654 · 4 HRvs hand .653 · 1-for-6 · Very small sample40H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseKCKC·HOUHOU
AVG.248 8th.242 19th
OPS.718 16th.732 7th
Home runs170 21st226 1st
Runs690 22nd734 13th
OBP.316 17th.315 19th
SLG.402 14th.417 5th
PitchingKCKC·HOUHOU
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.77vs4.45
KCHOU
WHIP1.41vs1.34
KCHOU
K/97.4vs8.8
KCHOU
HR Allowed210vs204
KCHOU
BullpenKCKC·HOUHOU
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.60vs3.75
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.45vs1.24
no league rank
Saves38vs49
KCHOU
ResultsKCKC·HOUHOU
+18928th
Run differential
+30515th
69–93 Record81–81
4–6 Last 104–6
Last 10 games
Kansas City Royals (4–6)
L
L
W
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
Houston Astros (4–6)
L
L
L
W
L
W
L
L
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—3
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.25 ERA, 9–8) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Astros?+
Hunter Brown (3.52 ERA, 5–3) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
8:10 PM ET at Daikin Park.
Where is the game being played?+
Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Royals and Astros performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Astros 3–3 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Michael Wacha is at 61; Hunter Brown is at 62. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.