Royals fall victim to surging Astros in 7-3 victory | The Kansas City Star

The best team in baseball arrived at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, a youthful brigade of athleticism, exuberance and former top draft picks. The evening was not designed to be an homage to everything the Royals once were two seasons ago — save for a menacing offense that piles up home runs — but the Houston Astros can channel that vibe. They can do a lot of things.

They are young. They are homegrown. They are complemented by a handful of veteran pieces. And they are barreling toward an American League West championship and another postseason appearance.

The latest evidence came Monday night, as the Royals dropped a 7-3 decision at Kauffman Stadium. As the two teams convened for a four-game series, starter Ian Kennedy was the latest opposing pitcher to fall victim to the juggernaut, surrendering four runs in five innings and dropping to 0-6 following a dismal run in his last five starts.

“There’s no real break in their lineup at all,” Kennedy said. “And it’s just like, if you get 2-0, you’d rather try to pitch to the next guy.”

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The Royals (24-32) fell to 3-4 on the home stand and eight games under .500, still confined to a holding pattern after a disastrous April. The Astros held on for their 11th straight victory, matching the third-longest winning streak in club history. After 58 games, they are 42-16, the best start in the major leagues since the 116-win Seattle Mariners opened with the same record in 2001.

Two years ago, of course, it was the Royals who fit that description, though maybe not quite like this. They sprinted out of the gates during the season’s first half and rode the momentum to a second straight pennant, dispatching an upstart version of these Astros in the process. In 2017, Houston’s homegrown core remains an ascendant club. In contrast, the Royals just look … well, older.

On Monday, they struck out 11 times and drew just one walk. Kennedy, meanwhile, issued three walks while attempting to navigate an Astros lineup that features George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa near the top of the order. There are not easy at-bats, no calm between the battles.

And for Kennedy, it was the latest setback following a hamstring injury on May 4 that landed him on the disabled list. In his four starts since the injury, he has surrendered 18 runs in 15 innings. As he stood before his locker on Monday night, Kennedy said he felt healthy and fresh after weeks of battling lingering issues. For now, the health hasn’t translated to the mound.

“After two innings he had more balls than he did strikes, and that’s not recommended,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Especially with this team … because they can do a lot of damage.”

The decisive blow came from the bat of Astros catcher Brian McCann, who jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Kennedy in the top of the fourth inning. The blast traveled 419 feet onto the porch in right field. It stretched the Astros’ lead to 4-0 and represented Houston’s 30th homer in its last 13 games.

The Royals struck back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring once on a bloop single to left by Brandon Moss and again on a perfectly executed two-out bunt by Alcides Escobar. But the worst offense in baseball — by runs and most metrics — was undone by a feeble moment in the sixth inning and missed opportunities in the late innings.

And then the bullpen wobbled anyway. Whit Merrifield, who slid into the leadoff spot, lost his 19-game hitting streak following an 0-for-5 night. The Royals will send rookie right-hander Jake Junis into the maw on Tuesday night.

“I was happy with my pitch selection and how I was seeing it,” Merrifield said. “I just didn’t make very good swings on pitches that I had been making good swings on. It just happened to be one of those nights.”

In the sixth, the Royals put two runners on when Eric Hosmer opened the inning with a single and Salvador Perez followed with a infield single that ended up in right field when third baseman Marwin Gonzalez misfired on a throw to second base. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Astros manager A.J. Hinch pulled starter Mike Fiers, turning the game over to left-handed reliever Reymin Guduan. Mike Moustakas lined out to third base before Moss and Escobar struck out to end the inning.

Rookie Jorge Bonifacio drilled his eighth homer of the year in the seventh, slicing the Houston lead to 4-3. But Moss struck out again with the tying run in scoring position in the eighth, eliciting a collection of boos from the Kauffman Stadium crowd. Moments later, the Astros broke the game open with a three-run homer from first baseman Yuli Gurriel against Kelvin Herrera in the top of the ninth. The Astros just kept attacking.

“It just feels like we’ve been on point since day one,” McCann said. “All phases of the game are clicking. We’ve got some really, really good players in here, some MVP-type players that are carrying us, and the bottom of the order is doing their damage as well.”

Houston, of course, has been doing this against everyone. The club arrived in Kansas City this week with the best record in the major leagues and an offense that had run roughshod over opponents for the last week and a half. In a 10-game winning streak, it had put up 82 runs and allowed just 36. In a three-game sweep in Minnesota, the Astros piled up 40 runs on the Twins’ pitching staff, including 28 against the relief corps. Across 57 games, they had hit a league-leading 90 homers while averaging 5.47 runs per game, nearly two runs per game higher than their opponents on Monday night.

This was before the game.

On a warm night at Kauffman Stadium, they flexed their muscles again. The Astros clubbed two homers, totaling 10 hits. They looked like the best team in baseball.

“They’re a good team,” Merrifield said. “They’re playing well, and when you’ve won 10 in a row, you’re going to be confident. They’re swinging the bats, top to bottom. And scoring a lot of runs.”

Astros 7, Royals 3

Astros	AB	R	H	BI	W	K	Avg.
Springer cf-rf	5	0	1	1	0	1	.278
Reddick rf-lf	5	0	1	0	0	1	.264
Altuve 2b	4	0	2	0	0	0	.326
Correa ss	3	0	0	0	1	1	.310
Beltran dh	4	0	0	0	0	2	.250
Gonzalez 3b	2	1	1	0	1	0	.314
Bregman 3b	1	1	1	0	0	0	.254
McCann c	4	3	2	2	0	1	.250
Gurriel 1b	3	2	1	3	1	0	.268
Aoki lf	3	0	1	1	0	1	.258
Marisnick cf	1	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Totals	35	7	10	7	3	7

Royals	AB	R	H	BI	W	K	Avg.
Merrifield 2b	5	0	0	0	0	1	.296
Bonifacio rf	5	1	2	1	0	2	.286
Cain cf	4	0	0	0	0	3	.267
Hosmer 1b	4	1	2	0	0	1	.308
Perez c	4	0	1	0	0	0	.254
Moustakas 3b	3	1	2	0	1	0	.261
1-Burns pr	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Cuthbert 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	.182
Moss dh	4	0	1	1	0	2	.188
Escobar ss	4	0	1	1	0	2	.181
Gordon lf	4	0	1	0	0	0	.174
Totals	37	3	10	3	1	11

Astros	020	200	003	—	7	10	1
Royals	000	200	100	—	3	10	1

Astros	I	H	R	ER	W	K	P	ERA
Fiers W, 3-2	5	7	2	2	1	4	96	4.84
Guduan	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	7	3.38
Hoyt	1.1	1	1	1	0	2	15	3.12
Harris	1	1	0	0	0	2	18	2.22
Feliz	1	1	0	0	0	2	17	2.10

Royals	I	H	R	ER	W	K	P	ERA
Kennedy L, 0-6	5	6	4	4	3	4	96	5.33
Strahm	1.2	1	0	0	0	3	18	4.50
Moylan	1	1	0	0	0	0	9	7.45
Soria	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	4	3.75
Herrera	1	2	3	2	0	0	17	4.30