Royals crush the Astros to even series
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 12-2 loss
May 7, 2019, 9:56 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With one win under their belt from the night before, Houston looked to lock up the series on Tuesday night against the Royals. Here's a quick rundown of the game:
Final Score: Royals 12, Astros 2
Record: 21-15, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Danny Duffy (1-1, 3.06 ERA)
Losing pitcher: Collin McHugh (3-4, 6.37 ERA)
1) McHugh gets roughed up, as does Valdez
After a quick first inning, McHugh unraveled through the next few, allowing a solo home run in the second to put the Royals up 1-0, then an RBI-double and grand slam in the third to extend their lead to 6-0. McHugh would stay on the mound to start the fourth but would allow two more runners before recording an out, prompting a call to the bullpen. Chris Devenski would get through the fourth, but not before allowing those two inherited runners to score, bringing McHugh's total earned runs to 8 on the night.
Framber Valdez was next out of the bullpen to try and eat up some innings after Devenski, but he too would fall victim to Kansas City's bats as he allowed the second grand slam of the night in the seventh inning to put the Royals up 12-1, a deficit the Astros would obviously not overcome. Valdez would finish three innings to get the game to the ninth, where none other than Tyler White took over to throw a scoreless ninth.
2) Bregman and Springer provide the only runs
Even with the game out of reach, the Astros didn't phone it in in the late innings. Alex Bregman got Houston on the board, finally, with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. George Springer provided the only other run on the night with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
Up Next: Houston and Kansas City will wrap up this series with another 7:10 PM start for the rubber game on Wednesday night. The Astros will have Brad Peacock (2-2, 5.28 ERA) on the mound to try and win the rubber match against Jorge Lopez (0-3, 5.09 ERA) for the Royals.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Michael Wacha scattered four hits over six innings, Vinnie Pasquantino homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 2-0 for the second straight night Saturday to run their winning streak to six.
Wacha (1-3) once again received little run support, but the veteran right-hander made the meager production stand up on chilly evening at Kauffman Stadium. He struck out six while walking two and never allowed a runner past second base.
Steven Cruz worked the seventh for Kansas City, his seventh appearance this season without allowing a run. John Schreiber left runners on the corners in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez had a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored in the first inning for the Royals, extending his career-best hitting streak to 18 games.
Framber Valdez (1-3) gave up a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha in the first inning and Pasquantino's shot down the right-field line in the fifth. Otherwise, the Astros left-hander kept Kansas City in check, allowing three hits and two walks over eight innings.
Valdez had tossed seven shutout innings against the Royals last August in a 3-2 victory.
The Astros, who have lost five straight at the K, have managed just nine hits while getting shut out over the first two games of the series. They had rolled into Kansas City having won three straight and five of their last six games.
Key moment
Isaac Parades hit a two-out double and Jeremy Peña followed with a single to give Houston runners on the corners in the eighth inning. Schreiber bounced back to strike out Christian Walker with a four-seam fastball to end the threat.
Key stat
The Royals have only scored seven runs in the 32 innings that Wacha has pitched this season.
Up next
RHP Hunter Brown (3-1, 1.16) tries to extend a 24-inning scoreless streak for Houston in the series finale Sunday. LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.45) gets the start for Kansas City after tossing seven shutout innings against the Rockies his last time out.