Astros Edge Royals 4-2 Behind Peña, Alvarez Power

Astros Take Control Early

The Houston Astros defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday, September 16, at Daikin Park. Jeremy Peña ignited the Houston offense with two home runs in the first three innings, while Yordan Alvarez added a two-run blast in the fifth to seal the win. The Astros improved their record to 76-75, while the Royals fell to 66-85. Attendance at the venue was 28,635.

Scoring Sequence

Peña struck first in the first inning, hitting a 440-foot home run to left center to give Houston a 1-0 lead. He followed up with a 370-foot shot to left in the third inning, extending the Astros' advantage to 2-0. The Royals responded in the fifth when Mike Jensen doubled to left, allowing Matt Collins to score and cut the deficit to 1-2.

Alvarez then drove in two runs with a 376-foot home run to right, scoring Peña and pushing the Houston lead to 4-1. The Royals added a final run in the sixth inning when Salvador Pasquantino homered to right center, bringing the score to 4-2. No further runs were scored in the remaining innings.

Pitching Performance

Hunter Brown earned the win for Houston, pitching five innings while allowing two hits and one run. He issued three walks and struck out ten batters. For the Royals, Michael Wacha took the loss after six innings, surrendering four hits and four runs.

He walked one batter and struck out two. Lucas Erceg and Jose Cuas each pitched one scoreless inning for Kansas City, with Cuas striking out two batters. The Houston bullpen maintained the lead, with Bennett Sousa, AJ Blubaugh, and Bryan Abreu each recording one inning of relief.

Josh Hader closed the game with one inning of work, striking out one batter to secure the save.

Sources

ESPN