Seeking to secure the season series in Space City.
The Kansas City Royals take on the Houston Astros tonight at Daikin Park in their final regular season matchup of the season. Kansas City won two of three in their matchup at Kauffman Stadium in April. After splitting the first two games in Houston, they could secure a victory in both this three-game set and the season series with a win tonight.
Michael Lorenzen will start for the Royals. Lorenzen shook off a four-homer outing in Baltimore to post his best start of the season last time out, shutting out Boston across seven innings. His pitch type distribution has changed substantially between starts and that unpredictability likely aids his effectiveness. An Astros lineup that’s light on left-handed bats will probably see plenty of breaking balls, of which he throws three different types. Lorenzen last faced Houston in September of 2022 with the Angels, allowing one run across 5.2 innings.
Houston will start Colton Gordon in his major league debut. Gordon has been pitching in Triple-A since 2023, where he’s been generally effective despite not putting up the strikeout numbers that he produced in the lower minors. He’s a lefty whose four-pitch mix plays up thanks to his command and deception. He throws a low-90s fastball, an 11-5 curve, a sweeping slider, and a changeup, each of which are average at best. Kansas City’s right-handed batters will need to be on the attack against Gordon.
First pitch: 7:10 pm CDT
Royals lineup
Michael Lorenzen takes the mound in the series finale.