Royals fall to Astros 8-2 in first game in Houston since miracle Game 4

The noise was deafening, the moment a flashback to an evening last October. It was the bottom of the first inning, and Houston’s Colby Rasmus was trotting around the bases after a two-run homer, his jet-black hair flipping back and forth. Royals starter Chris Young was calling for a new baseball.

Minute Maid Park had come alive on Monday night. And this time, there would be no silencing it.

The Royals had returned to the scene of their most improbable comeback, a miraculous rally in Game 4 of last year’s American League Division Series. The victory helped chart the course for destiny last fall. The Royals carried the momentum of a world championship into the first week of 2016, finishing 4-1 in a five-game home stand. They ran into a buzz saw on Monday night, falling 8-2 to the Astros as a raucous party raged for Houston’s home opener.

The result was just one victory in a four-game series. For Houston, it must have felt slightly more cathartic. The Astros battered Young for six runs and nine hits in 4  2/3 innings. Shortstop Carlos Correa, who launched two homers and had a pivotal error in that fateful Game 4, flashed his mammoth potential Monday, finishing with three hits and two RBIs.

“Sometimes you run into a team and it’s not your night,” Young said. “They’ve got hitters that can do damage.”

The Royals, meanwhile, could not break through against Astros starter Collin McHugh, another key character from the five-game ALDS. The offense was quiet for seven innings against McHugh before Kendrys Morales broke up the shutout with a two-run blast to left field.

The Royals finished with 11 hits. They left nine men on base. With the score still 3-0 in the fourth, they put runners at second and third with two out. Salvador Perez struck a pop-fly to center field. McHugh evaded danger all night.

“I thought he commanded his fastball really well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of McHugh. “He had a really good slider, good curveball (and) changed speeds really well.

The Royals fell to 4-2 on the season as they began a seven-game road trip that will also take them to Oakland for a three-game series. Right-hander Kris Medlen will attempt to administer payback tonight when he makes his first start of the season.

The Astros were christening another season Monday, infusing another home opener with the usual notes of pageantry. The Royals played the role of unwelcome guests at the party. They were not treated well.

Nearly six months ago, the Royals cut the heart out of this city in an epic Game 4 thriller. The Astros were six outs from an appearance in the American League Championship Series. The Royals would not die. The result propelled one franchise to a World Series championship and left another city stunned.

On Monday, Yost recalled walking through the interior of the stadium in the moments after the game, seeing the faces of distraught stadium workers. The lingering emotion spilled over into Monday night.

In the moments before the first pitch, fireworks detonated inside Minute Maid Park. The noise was ear-splitting. A few minutes later, the Astros exploded against Young, who was making his second start of the season. In his first outing, Young yielded just two runs in five innings in a loss to the Mets at Kauffman Stadium.On Monday, the Astros jumped him from the opening batter.

Jose Altuve roped a leadoff single. Correa sliced an RBI double to right field. Rasmus followed with a booming blast into the upper deck in right. Both RBI hits came on pitches up in the zone. Young left an 81 mph slider over the plate for Correa; he missed with an 88 mph fastball that stayed in the heart of the zone against Rasmus.

“The Rasmus home run was a bad pitch,” Young said. “He did what he was supposed to do with it. He punished it.”

Young settled down and spun two scoreless innings. The Astros erupted for three more runs in the fourth, taking advantage of a walk and three hits. Young was not his sharpest self. He made mistakes, he said, but the Astros also hit the pitches he executed. He sought to credit the Houston offense.

“If you’re executing the pitches and they’re getting hit, you look at the pitch selection,” Young said. “But I’ve watched the video of the game, and I still stand by my pitch selection and my preparation.”

His fly-ball style is also an awkward fit for the hitter-friendly dimensions at Minute Maid Park. Luis Valbuena and Jason Castro supplied the knockout with back-to-back extra-base hits in the fourth.

“I felt like I executed some good pitches tonight that also got hit,” Young said. “Some nights you tip your cap. I’d like to have a couple of pitches back. But they swung it well tonight. Give them credit.”

As the Astros took their hacks, the Royals could not solve McHugh, the 28-year-old right-hander. A familiar nemesis last October, McHugh can be the pitching personification of understatement. He relies on a loopy curveball, a cutter and a four-seam fastball that hovers below 90 mph. Like Young, his stuff is not intimidating. It can be effective.

A year ago, he used that repertoire to post a 3.89 ERA in 32 starts. He beat the Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. He also took the loss in a decisive Game 5 at Kauffman Stadium, allowing three runs while being outdueled by Johnny Cueto. In his first start of 2016, he suffered through a disastrous performance at Yankee Stadium, surrendering six runs, five earned, while recording just one out.

On Monday, he rebounded into form, slowing the Royals’ aggressive attack. Six months ago, the Royals kept the line moving and crafted an improbable victory. On Monday, they opened their road schedule with a loss in the same building.

“We couldn’t capitalize,” Yost said. “McHugh made some pretty big pitches when he needed to in those situations.”

Astros 8, Royals 2

a-struck out for Col.Rasmus in the 8th.

LOB: Kansas City 9, Houston 8. 2B: A.Gordon (1), Correa (2), White (3), Valbuena (2). 3B: Springer (1), J.Castro (1). HR: K.Morales (2), off Sipp; Col.Rasmus (3), off Young. RBIs: K.Morales 2 (5), Altuve (2), Springer (5), Correa 2 (6), Col.Rasmus 2 (6), Valbuena (3), J.Castro (1). SB: Altuve 2 (6).

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 5 (S.Perez 2, Moustakas, L.Cain 2); Houston 6 (White, Correa, Valbuena 2, Col.Rasmus, Marisnick). RISP: Kansas City 0 for 5; Houston 5 for 15. Runners moved up: Springer. GIDP: Moustakas 2. DP: Houston 2 (White, Correa, McHugh), (Altuve, Correa, White).

Inherited runners-scored: Wang 2-0.

Umpires: Home, Adrian Johnson; First, Gary Cederstrom; Second, Eric Cooper; Third, Jim Wolf. Time: 2:59. Att: 43,332.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Royals fall to Astros 8-2 in first game in Houston since miracle Game 4."