The Houston Astros didn’t have the sharpest game in the field, but they put together just enough offense to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Thursday. It also didn’t hurt that the Royals decided to throw the baseball around the Minute Maid Park diamond.
In the Astros’ half of the eighth inning, Houston entered it losing after Kansas City put together a three-run seventh. Zach Dezenzo managed to get a bases-loaded walk off Royals reliever Lucas Erceg (2-5) that pushed Houston ahead 4-3.
Houston Astros Strike Late
Before that, the Astros had two runners on base and were down 3-2. Yanier Diaz hit a grounder back to Erceg. When Erceg tried backhanding the comebacker, he couldn’t find a handle on the ball. He rushed a throw to Kansas City first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, whose glove hand collided with Diaz.
Pasquantino appeared to be injured and left the game. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve scored from second, tying the game at 3-3. Royals reliever John Schreiber gave up an intentional walk to Astros outfielder Ben Gamel. Jeremy Peña, who had an awful night in the field, grounded into a force out at home plate.
Dezenzo’s bases-loaded walk plated Diaz, putting the Astros up for good. Mauricio Dubón singled to left, scoring Gamel. Peña scored on a fielding error from Royals left fielder MJ Melendez, giving Houston a 6-3 lead.
“It’s been like that the whole year,” Dubón said after the game, according to The Associated Press. “We’ve been fighting. Dezenzo had an unreal at-bat and gave me a chance to make something happen.”
Righthander Ryan Pressly (1-3), who was just activated from the injured list before Thursday’s game, got the victory in relief. He threw a scoreless eighth inning. Josh Hader kept up his excellent work for the Houston Astros, earning his 29th save this season. “These guys like big moments like that,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “That’s a huge win for us, right there.”
But the Astros’ defense, which hasn’t been sharp in recent weeks, reared its ugly head. Kansas City took its 3-2 lead on the strength of two Astros errors. Salvador Perez reached first on a one-out fielding error by Peña. Paul DeJong almost grounded into a double play, but the throw to first was late. Melendez walked. Maikel Garcia reached base after Astros third baseman Shay Whitcomb bobbled a groundball, loading the bases. Kyle Isbel followed with a three-run double down the left-field line off reliever Bryan Abreu.
“We took advantage of an error,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s what you have to do — when a good team makes a mistake, you have to take advantage of it. We made a mistake, and they took advantage of it. Same thing on the other side.”
Hunter Brown Delivered Again
Hunter Brown was, once again, lights out in a starting role. Brown, who turned 29 on Thursday, allowed two hits and no earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. It was a stark contrast to Brown’s last start against Kansas City on April 11. Brown lasted just two-thirds of an inning, giving up nine runs on 11 hits.
“I could not wait to pitch against these guys,” Brown said. “I got bounced in the first inning, and that was definitely still on my mind even though it was however many months ago. So, once I got through the first inning, that was awesome. I was very thankful. That was a birthday gift, in itself.”
Meanwhile, the Astros inserted newly acquired outfielder Jason Heyward into their starting lineup. Heyward had a two-run double down the right-field line off Royals starter Brady Singer in the fifth inning for a 2-0 Astros lead.
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was ejected in the fourth inning by home-plate umpire Alex Tosi. Bregman balked at a strike-three call from Tosi, walked behind him and apparently had a couple of words for him. Espada came out and defended Bregman, pushing him aside. “When Alex argues balls and strikes, 99% of the time, he’s right,” Espada said.
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