Astros take series from Royals in a blowout

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 9-0 win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 9-0 win
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros looked to put the disaster of Tuesday night behind them and get the series win with a victory on Wednesday night against the Royals. Here are some quick facts and three hits from the game:

Final Score: Astros 9, Royals 0

Record: 22-15, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Brad Peacock (3-2, 4.30 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Jorge Lopez (0-4, 6.07 ERA)

1) Offense strikes back

The Astros enacted their revenge on the Royals from the night before with a big offensive night of their own. It started with Houston's first batter of the night as George Springer led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run. They struck again in the third, putting together a five-run inning on a couple of sac flies from Alex Bregman and Aledmys Diaz, a solo home run from Carlos Correa, and a two-run home run by Michael Brantley. Brantley made it back-to-back innings and at-bats with a home run, coming up big again in the fourth with a solo home run to extend the lead to 7-0.

They were at it again in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI groundout from Max Stassi then sacrifice fly from Springer to extend the lead to 9-0.

2) Filthy Peacock

Peacock had his slider working and in control in this start, allowing just two baserunners through the first four innings. He got into some trouble in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but would get out of it with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. He bounced back from that with two more dominant innings, completing seven shutout frames. Peacock's final line: 7 innings pitched, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, and a career-high 12 strikeouts.

3) James shuts it down

With Peacock's night done after seven fantastic innings, Josh James took over in the eighth and worked around a leadoff walk to keep the shutout going into the ninth. In the ninth, he hit a batter but still completed the shutout with another scoreless inning, giving him two innings of work with a walk, hit batter, and five strikeouts.

Up Next: The Astros will stay here in Houston with a four-game series against the rival Rangers starting tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:10 PM and will feature Wade Miley (2-2, 3.20 ERA) for Houston on the mound opposite of Mike Minor (3-2, 2.40 ERA) for the Rangers.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Fred VanVleet agrees to new contract with Houston. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

For the Houston Rockets, it's already been an exciting offseason, with the team trading for NBA superstar Kevin Durant earlier this week. The Rockets also inked extensions with big man Steven Adams and head coach Ime Udoka in recent weeks.

Apparently the action isn't slowing down as the Rockets have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with guard Fred VanVleet.

Senior ESPN NBA analyst Sham Charania is reporting that VanVleet intends to sign a 2-year, $50 million contract with Houston.

Charania is also reporting that VanVleet has a player option for the 2026-2027 season.

In 60 games, VanVleet averaged just over 14 points and 5.6 assists per game last season.

Per NBC Sports' Kurt Helin:

This is a team-friendly deal for the Rockets that gets them below the luxury tax line, helping them avoid the repeater tax. It also opens up the full $14.1 million mid-level exception to add more talent to the roster. For VanVleet, it's more total money and an extra year of security.

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