The KC Royals scored four runs in the top of the eighth to complete their comeback over the host Houston Astros. They won 7-3.

Manager Ned Yost must have forgotten that the Astros are not in the National League anymore. But his move in the 7th inning paid off.

Alcides Escobar

After Astros starter Bud Norris left with an injured back, lefty Travis Blackley entered in relief. With two outs and runners on the corners, Yost pinch-hit for Chris Getz with Alcides Escobar. But Astros manager Bo Porter countered with a right-handed reliever. Esky delivered with an RBI single. David Lough followed with an RBI single to cut the Astros lead to 3-2.

The Royals offense exploded in the 8th inning.

With one out and the bases loaded, Mike Moustakas finally came through with an RBI single to tie the game. George Kottaras once again walked to drive in the go ahead run. Esky came through again, with a ground out to score two more runs (though the shortstop threw the ball away).

The Royals 2-5 hitters went a combined 9-for-18 with four runs scored. The Royals collected 13 hits and went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, all 13 hits were singles.

After another sub-par start from Wade Davis (5IP, 8H, 3R, 4BB, 6K), the Royals bullpen came through. It started with JC Gutierrez‘ scoreless inning. Bruce Chen picked up the win with another scoreless inning of relief. Aaron Crow and Greg Holland also threw a scoreless inning. Holland struck out three.

The two teams finish the series tomorrow night, as James Shields looks for his third win of the season. The Astros send Jordan Lyles to the hill.

Just when it looked like the KC Royals would snap out of their funk and win a game, they lose to the lowly Houston Astros. They lost 6-5.

The two bench players were the majority of the offense on Monday.

Miguel Tejada

Elliot Johnson gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with an RBI single. Unfortunately, Jeremy Guthrie gave the lead up in the bottom of the inning. He then gave up two more runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning to give the Astros a 3-1 lead.

But then something miraculous happened: Miguel Tejada hit a homerun. With people on base. It was his first homerun since 2011 and the first non-solo homerun for the Royals since May 11th. Tejada hit a three-run shot with one out to give the Royals a 4-3 lead.

Unfortunately, Guthrie gave up his own three-run homerun in the bottom of the fourth to give the Astros the lead right back. Guthrie lost his second game in a row, as he allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks over just five innings.

Of course, the Royals out-hit the Astros, 11-9, but went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They also hit into two double plays. Eric Hosmer and Jeff Francoeur each collected three hits. I know, shocking.

*On another negative note, catcher Salvador Perez slid into the fence in front of the Astros dugout and left later in the game with an injured hip. Hip injuries for a catcher are not good.

The KC Royals finished up their road games of Interleague Play with a 2-1 win in Houston to win the series. Since getting swept by Pittsburgh June 8-10, the Royals have won seven of nine (which is three straight series).

Kelvin Herrera

After his disastrous start against the St. Louis Cardinals last Saturday, starter Bruce Chen came out with a good start against the Astros. I’m not saying he was dominant, as he only lasted 5.2 innings, but he got the job done. Chen allowed just one run on five hits and two walks while striking out six. He got into trouble in the 6th inning, but Kelvin Herrera came in and got out of the jam.

Boy did Herrera get out of the jam. He faced four batters over 1.1 innings and struck out ALL four on a total of 18 pitches.

The dominance in the Royals bullpen continued behind Herrera, as Jose Mijares, Greg Holland, and closer Jonathan Broxton closed the door on the Astros.

It got a little dicey for Broxton in the 9th inning (when aren’t his outings nerve-wracking?), but he pulled it out. The tying run stood on third base with just one out, but Broxton struck out Brian Bixler for the second out. He then got Jordan Schafer to fly out to end the game.

Is anyone else noticing that Broxton is throwing nothing more than his fastball lately (just three sliders today)?

Meanwhile, the Royals offense didn’t do a whole lot against Astros starter Jordan Lyles. They scored their first run in the 5th inning on a Brayan Pena ground out. In the 6th inning after an Alex Gordon one out triple, Yuniesky Betancourt reached on a Jed Lowrie error, which scored the eventual game winner. They had just four hits in the game, just three off Lyles over seven innings.

» Continue reading “Royals Win Another Series, This Time Over Astros”

KC Royals starter Luke Hochevar finally pitched the way people had hoped this season. Despite walking four, he got into the 8th inning and dominated the Houston Astros. The Royals held on for the 2-0 win.

The Royals got on the board against Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez in the very first inning on Billy Butler‘s solo homerun (his 13th of the season). The Royals tacked on another run in the 3rd inning on Alcides Escobar‘s two-out RBI single.

Hochevar worked into and out of trouble the entire game, but didn’t throw more than 100 pitches. He got the strikeout when he needed (six) and the ground outs when he needed them (11).

Hochevar got into trouble in the 8th inning with two outs and the tying run on second base. That brought a pitching change and in came reliever Aaron Crow. He struck out Justin Maxwell to end the inning.

The 9th inning started with a leadoff walk issued by Royals closer Jonathan Broxton. However he got Chris Johnson to pop up on the very next pitch. Broxton then retired the next two in order to complete the shutout.

On offense, Butler and Escobar had two hits each.

*For more on the Astros, check out Tales from the Juice Box.

For the first time this season, KC Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez reached the 6th inning. However, the Royals lost to Houston, 9-7.

It was actually a pitcher’s duel between Sanchez and the Astros JA Happ. Both teams got on the board in the first inning. The Royals scored a single run on a Jeff Francoeur two-out RBI single. The Astros scored two runs, one on a Brian Bixler solo homerun and the other on a failed pickoff attempt by Sanchez.

The Astros got to Sanchez again in the 4th inning on his wildness. He hit Chris Johnson and threw yet another pickoff throw away. With one out, Chris Snyder drove him in with a single. With two outs, Sanchez hit another batter and allowed a single to load the bases for Justin Maxwell. He walked him to force in the fourth run.

When the two starters left the game, the score was 4-2 Houston after six innings. Sanchez: 6IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 4BB, 3K, 2HBP. Happ: 6IP, 4H, 2R, BB, 3K.

The Astros scored a ton of insurance against Royals reliever Louis Coleman in the bottom of the 8th inning. Five runs to be exact (two homeruns). Every one of those runs was needed as the Royals came storming back in the top of the 9th inning against Astros closer Brett Myers.

With one out, the Royals strung together three straight singles to load the bases and Jarrod Dyson drove in one run with a single. Pinch-hitter Mitch Maier drove in a run with a sac fly. Alex Gordon loaded the bases again with a single. Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a two-run single and Billy Butler followed with an RBI single. After a Francoeur single loaded the bases yet again, Myers was finally taken out.

So the Royals had the bases loaded, two outs, trailing by two runs with Mike Moustakas coming to the plate against Xavier Cedeno. Moose popped out in foul territory on the fourth curveball of the at-bat to end the game.

It was another night that the Royals offense out-hit their opponent (13-11), but still lost the ballgame. Yuni continued his hot-hitting with a 2-for-5 night. Francoeur and Alcides Escobar also collected two hits. Gordon went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot to get his average up to a respectable .262.

*Coleman returned to the Royals as Chris Getz was placed on the DL and Nate Adcock was again sent back to Triple-A. Lefty reliever Tommy Hottovy joined Coleman with a promotion.

**For more on the Astros, check out Tales from the Juicebox.

As the KC Royals are playing versus the LA Angels, the team has acquired their backup catcher in an effort to slighten the blow of losing starter Salvador Perez for half the season.

Scouts checked out Houston Astro Humberto Quintero in his first spring game back from back issues and today they made a deal to acquire him.

Thing is, they also got outfielder Jason Bourgeois. The Royals need an outfielder like they need a hole in the head. Maybe they are planning on trading him elsewhere?

The Royals only gave up minor league reliever Kevin Chapman (who spent part of last season in High-A Wilmington) and a player to be named later.

I’ve been a fan of Quintero’s since his days in the Carolina League (he was an All-Star back in 2002). He’s a pretty good defensive catcher and is known to play through injuries (he’s a tough guy).

Welcome to the team!