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Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Starting Lineups — September 16, 2026

Batting orders, positions, season stats, splits against the opposing starter's hand and batter-versus-pitcher history with sample size for both clubs.

8:10 PM ET · Daikin ParkFinal lineups locked · Sep 16, 5:10 PM ETStats updated Oct 29, 3:32 AM ET
KC
69–93 · 5th AL Central
Official
HandRHP
L / R bats5 L / 3 R / 1 S
OPS vs hand.727 vs RHP
HOU
81–81 · 1st AL West
Official
HandLHP
L / R bats2 L / 6 R / 1 S
OPS vs hand.713 vs LHP

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 16, 5:10 PM ET
KCKC
.718
−30 ptsOPS edge
HOUHOU
.748

Slight edge: HOU

Power
Season HR
104vs163
Discipline
Adj. OBP
.316vs.321
Top of order
Slots 1–4
.736vs.811
Bottom of order
Slots 7–9
.690vs.668

KC wins 4 of 9 batting-order slots · HOU wins 5

KCSlotHOU
Carter Jensen.763
1
.777Jeremy Peña
Bobby Witt Jr..794
2
.982Yordan Alvarez
Vinnie Pasquantino.719
3
.779Isaac Paredes
Salvador Perez.666
4
.700Jose Altuve
Michael Massey.740
5
.732Yainer Diaz
Nick Loftin.695
6
.713Christian Walker
John Rave.731
7
.685Cam Smith
Josh Rojas.667
8
.655Daulton Varsho
Isaac Collins.671
9
.662Jorge Barrosa

6 of 9 Kansas City Royals hitters have the platoon advantage vs Cristian Javier (7 of 9 for Houston Astros)

Kansas City Royals
  • Platoon advantage in 6 of 9 spots
Houston Astros
  • Strong top of the order
  • Platoon advantage in 7 of 9 spots
  • Real power throughout the lineup

Kansas City Royals batting order

Official lineupvs RHP Cristian Javier
#HitterPosH-ScoreAVGOBPOPSHRPAOPS vs HandBvP
1Carter JensenLC73.239.323.79027603.837397 PANo MLB historyNo MLB history
1Carter Jensen C · L.239/.323/.790·27 HRvs hand.837 · 397 PA · No MLB history · No MLB73H-Score
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS75.281.359.80018632.783420 PA2-for-2 · 2 PAVery small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281/.359/.800·18 HRvs hand.783 · 420 PA · 2-for-2 · 2 PA · Very small75H-Score
3Vinnie PasquantinoL1B66.249.333.76117481.826317 PA0-for-6 · 6 PASmall sample
3Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249/.333/.761·17 HRvs hand.826 · 317 PA · 0-for-6 · 6 PA · Small66H-Score
4Salvador PerezRDH53.229.274.65721627.628421 PA1-for-6 · 6 PASmall sample
4Salvador Perez DH · R.229/.274/.657·21 HRvs hand.628 · 421 PA · 1-for-6 · 6 PA · Small53H-Score
5Michael MasseyL2B58.274.305.73513452.721313 PA0-for-2 · 2 PAVery small sample
5Michael Massey 2B · L.274/.305/.735·13 HRvs hand.721 · 313 PA · 0-for-2 · 2 PA · Very small58H-Score
6Nick LoftinR3B51.240.322.7108426.685242 PA0-for-2 · 2 PAVery small sample
6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240/.322/.710·8 HRvs hand.685 · 242 PA · 0-for-2 · 2 PA · Very small51H-Score
7John RaveLRF54.232.314.7446161.78591 PANo MLB historyNo MLB history
7John Rave RF · L.232/.314/.744·6 HRvs hand.785 · 91 PA · No MLB history · No MLB54H-Score
8Josh RojasL3B29.226.265.5862115.57183 PA0-for-1 · 1 PAVery small sample
8Josh Rojas 3B · L.226/.265/.586·2 HRvs hand.571 · 83 PA · 0-for-1 · 1 PA · Very small29H-Score
9Isaac CollinsSLF49.213.320.6416519.660339 PANo MLB historyNo MLB history
9Isaac Collins LF · S.213/.320/.641·6 HRvs hand.660 · 339 PA · No MLB history · No MLB49H-Score

Houston Astros batting order

Official lineupvs LHP Daniel Lynch IV
#HitterPosH-ScoreAVGOBPOPSHRPAOPS vs HandBvP
1Jeremy PeñaRSS60.277.325.80222483.6910-for-1 · 1 PAVery small sample
1Jeremy Peña SS · R.277/.325/.802·22 HRvs hand.691 · 0-for-1 · 1 PA · Very small60H-Score
2Yordan AlvarezLDH91.316.4321.03342692.825184 PA0-for-3 · 3 PAVery small sample
2Yordan Alvarez DH · L.316/.432/1.033·42 HRvs hand.825 · 184 PA · 0-for-3 · 3 PA · Very small91H-Score
3Isaac ParedesR3B66.262.360.80725659.7590-for-3 · 3 PAVery small sample
3Isaac Paredes 3B · R.262/.360/.807·25 HRvs hand.759 · 0-for-3 · 3 PA · Very small66H-Score
4Jose AltuveR2B48.250.306.70116573.7621-for-6 · 6 PASmall sample
4Jose Altuve 2B · R.250/.306/.701·16 HRvs hand.762 · 1-for-6 · 6 PA · Small48H-Score
5Yainer DiazRC62.285.313.77214361.80696 PANo MLB historyNo MLB history
5Yainer Diaz C · R.285/.313/.772·14 HRvs hand.806 · 96 PA · No MLB history · No MLB62H-Score
6Christian WalkerR1B63.226.299.72629635.7690-for-2 · 2 PAVery small sample
6Christian Walker 1B · R.226/.299/.726·29 HRvs hand.769 · 0-for-2 · 2 PA · Very small63H-Score
7Cam SmithRRF57.210.279.66921568.729No MLB historyNo MLB history
7Cam Smith RF · R.210/.279/.669·21 HRvs hand.729 · No MLB history · No MLB57H-Score
8Daulton VarshoLCF45.221.281.63612526.634131 PA0-for-1 · 1 PAVery small sample
8Daulton Varsho CF · L.221/.281/.636·12 HRvs hand.634 · 131 PA · 0-for-1 · 1 PA · Very small45H-Score
9Jorge BarrosaSCF32.193.285.6162174.770No MLB historyNo MLB history
9Jorge Barrosa CF · S.193/.285/.616·2 HRvs hand.770 · No MLB history · No MLB32H-Score