Early Power Surge
Jeremy Peña provided the offensive spark for Houston, launching two home runs to help the Astros secure a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The first came in the top of the first inning when Peña connected on a 440-foot shot to left-center field, giving Houston an early 1-0 lead.
He added to his night in the third inning with another home run, this one measuring 370 feet to left field, extending the Astros' advantage to 2-0.
Middle Innings Action
The Royals began to chip away at the deficit in the fifth inning. Jensen doubled to left field, allowing Collins to score and cutting the lead to 2-1. However, Houston immediately responded with a two-run blast from Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez homered to right field (376 feet) with Peña scoring as well, pushing the Astros ahead 4-1.
Kansas City managed to get back on the board in the sixth inning when Pasquantino hit a home run to right-center field (376 feet), making the score 4-2. No further runs were scored by either team for the remainder of the game.
Pitching Performances
Hunter Brown earned the win for Houston, pitching five innings and allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out 10 batters despite walking three. He was supported by a reliever corps that kept the Royals off the scoreboard in the later innings.
Bennett Sousa pitched one inning, giving up one hit and one earned run, while AJ Blubaugh and Bryan Abreu each threw scoreless frames with one strikeout apiece. Josh Hader recorded the save, pitching the ninth inning and allowing one hit.
For Kansas City, Michael Wacha took the loss after pitching six innings. He allowed four runs on four hits and two walks, striking out two batters. Lucas Erceg and Jose Cuas each pitched one inning of relief for the Royals, combining to allow no earned runs while recording two strikeouts.
Final Result
The final score was 4-2 in favor of Houston. The game was played at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, with an attendance of 28,635. With this result, the Houston Astros improved their record to 76-75, while the Kansas City Royals fell to 66-85.
Sources
ESPN
