Royals edge Astros in Houston
The Kansas City Royals defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 on Thursday at Daikin Park. The visitors came away with the win, improving their record to 67-85, while the host Astros fell to 76-76. The game drew an attendance of 28,497.
Scoring unfolds
The Royals established an early lead in the fourth inning. Rave hit a home run to right field, traveling 366 feet, while Massey scored from base. This play gave Kansas City a 2-0 advantage. The score remained static until the eighth inning, when Massey launched a solo homer to right, carrying 342 feet, to extend the lead to 3-0. Shortly after, Jensen doubled to right. Collins scored on a throwing error by right fielder Barrosa, and Rojas also crossed the plate to make it 5-0. Houston challenged the call, but the decision on the field was upheld. The Astros trimmed the deficit to 5-1 when Paredes hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Barrosa to score.
Late-game action
In the ninth inning, Diaz hit a home run to left field, traveling 381 feet, for the final run of the game. The scoring sequence concluded with the final score at 5-2 in favor of Kansas City.
Pitching performance
Daniel Lynch IV earned the win for the Royals, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing two hits and one walk while striking out three batters. He did not allow earned runs. The bullpen provided support, with Craig Kimbrel, Nolan Hoffman, and Anthony Gose all recording saves. Kimbrel pitched one inning with one hit and no earned runs. Hoffman threw 0.1 innings, allowing two hits but no earned runs. Gose pitched 0.2 innings, allowing no hits, no earned runs, and striking out one batter. Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz also pitched for Kansas City. Pearson threw one inning, allowing one hit, one earned run, and one walk. Cruz pitched one inning, allowing two hits, one earned run, and striking out three batters.
For Houston, Cristian Javier took the loss. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, and three walks while striking out two batters. Bryan King, Enyel De Los Santos, and Tatsuya Imai also appeared in relief for the Astros.
King pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and striking out one batter while recording a save. De Los Santos threw 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs, two walks, and striking out two batters. Imai pitched one inning, allowing one walk and striking out one batter while recording a save.
Sources
ESPN
