Royals crush the Astros to even series

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 12-2 loss

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 12-2 loss
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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