With eye on 2024, red-hot Kansas City Royals beat playoff-hopeful Houston Astros again
Kansas City Royals starter Jordan Lyles faced his old team on Saturday for the second time in a week.
Lyles, who was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2008, spent three seasons pitching at Minute Maid Park. After allowing four runs in his last start against the Astros, he turned in a solid performance the second time around as the Royals earned a 3-2 victory.
The Royals have now won five straight games and clinched their fourth consecutive series.
In five scoreless innings, Lyles allowed two hits and two walks and struck out three. He threw 42 of 82 pitches for strikes and protected a three-run lead.
“Those guys are one of the better lineups in baseball,” Lyles said. “They are going to make it difficult on you. They did a really good job and I wasn’t able to get deep. But five scoreless (innings), team win, sign me up every day of the week for it.”
Lyles got the win and improved to 5-17 this season. He primarily relied on his sinker and sweeper Saturday: Those pitches combined for 22 swings, four whiffs and three called strikes.
The Royals aided Lyles with early run support. MJ Melendez hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Later, KC added two key insurance runs in the fifth.
“Any time you are playing from ahead, you are going to have some confidence ...” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “It’s never bad to play from ahead. Just got to keep getting on them early.”
Astros starter J.P. France kept his team in the game. He took the loss despite allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings. He struck out five.
“France pitched well tonight,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We were just able to take advantage of a couple things.”
The Astros didn’t score until the seventh inning, when outfielder Chas McCormick hit his 22nd home run of the season. Houston brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth, but KC reliever Taylor Clarke worked out of a potential jam by retiring McCormick and Astros catcher Yainer Diaz in order.
Clarke also pitched a scoreless ninth and picked up his third save of the year.
“I was trying to take it one pitch at a time and slow it down,” Clarke said. “I had Jose (Abreu) where I wanted him and a fastball got away from me. Then, to be able to buckle down and make some pitches after that helped out a lot.”
The Royals (53-102) have won nine of their last 10 and remain four losses from tying their worst mark for a single season.
“These kinds of wins are definitely going to go a long way for our guys’ confidence,” Quatraro said.
Missed previous games of the series?
Road win: Royals hold off Astros in 7-5 victory at Minute Maid Park
Fall ball: Royals expected to send eight players to Arizona Fall League
Here are more notables from Saturday’s game:
Royals score twice in 5th inning
The Royals clung to an early one-run lead against the Astros. Each team struggled to generate offense with the two starting pitchers duking it out.
In the fifth inning, KC finally created some separation. The Royals scored two runs on two hits in the frame. First baseman Nick Pratto recorded a leadoff single and outfielder Kyle Isbel followed with a walk.
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia reached to load the bases, and that brought shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to the plate. Witt delivered an RBI fielder’s choice.
Later, Isbel scored following a wild pitch.
“As soon as it went to two strikes and (Alex) Bregman vacated, Izzy knew right away and extended his lead,” Quatraro said. “Fortunately, that was the next pitch — the curveball in the dirt. That’s heads-up base-running.”
The additional runs proved critical down the stretch. The Royals provided their bullpen an extended lead.
Injury update: Salvy progressing, Keller diagnosed with TOS
The Royals on Saturday shared injury updates about two key veterans.
Captain Salvador Perez arrived in Houston and is on track to return from the seven-day concussion injured list. Perez sustained a mild concussion after being struck in the face by a foul tip against the Astros at Kauffman Stadium.
“He’s passed all the tests and feels good,” Quatraro said. “Barring any sort of unusual circumstance, he will be good.”
The Royals also received a diagnosis on pitcher Brad Keller. He met with a specialist this week and was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).
“He was diagnosed with TOS,” Quatraro said of Keller. “He has not decided a course of action. He is going to decide in the next couple of days.”
What’s next: The Royals conclude their three-game series against the Astros on Sunday. KC hasn’t announced a starter for the matchup.
This story was originally published September 23, 2023 at 9:04 PM.
