Michael Wacha gave the Royals enough to hang around Tuesday night, but Houston kept landing the bigger blows in a 4-2 Astros win at Daikin Park.
Wacha worked six innings and, even without his sharpest stuff, still put Kansas City in position to steal one. The damage came early and often from Jeremy Pena, who opened the game with a home run on an 88.5 mph cutter and later added another solo shot in the third on a curveball. It was Pena’s fifth career multi-home run game.
Wacha kept going after the two early mistakes and mostly settled in from there, but the Astros added two more runs in the fifth when Yordan Alvarez launched his 39th homer over the right-field wall. All four runs were charged to Wacha, who allowed three homers in a game for just the third time this season. The last time it happened was Aug. 17 against the Athletics.
He finished with 61 strikes on 99 pitches, seven groundouts and one walk. The loss dropped him to 9-9, though he still has been a workhorse all season, going six or more innings in 23 of his 30 starts and giving himself an outside shot at 200 innings for the first time in his career.
Kansas City didn’t get much going against Hunter Brown, either. The Astros right-hander struck out 10 and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning. The Royals finally scratched out some offense in the fifth after Isaac Collins drew a walk following a challenge, and Carter Jensen followed with an RBI double to trim the margin.
That double carried extra meaning for Jensen. It gave him the Royals’ rookie record for extra-base hits, pushing him to 58 and moving him past Bobby Witt Jr., who had held the mark since the 2022 season.
The Royals added one more run in the sixth on Vinnie Pasquantino’s solo homer, but that was the extent of their night at the plate. Kansas City finished with four hits, while Brown earned his sixth win after allowing two hits and three walks. The victory moved Houston to 76-75.
Tuesday also brought back Maikel Garcia and Lucas Erceg. Garcia started at third base and went 1-for-3 with a walk, while Erceg threw a scoreless seventh, getting Jorge Barrosa to strike out and end the inning after 10 of his 14 pitches went for strikes.
The Royals will turn to left-hander Daniel Lynch IV, who is 5-5 with a 3.52 ERA, in Wednesday’s rematch. Houston is set to counter with right-hander Cristian Javier, who is 2-5 with a 5.50 ERA, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Central.
In Other News...
Royals Fans Just Got Another Reminder About The Kris Bubic Trade
Kris Bubics path back to the big leagues has been a little longer than anyone in Los Angeles probably hoped, but the Dodgers finally moved him onto the active roster this week after his minor league rehab work. To clear space, they sent right-hander Paul Gervase back to Triple-A Oklahoma City and removed first baseman/outfielder Ryan Ward from the 40-man roster, a reminder that roster churn never really stops for a contender.
For Royals fans, Bubics latest step is another small checkpoint in a trade that still lingers in the background months later. He arrived from Kansas City on Aug. 3 and has logged six minor league games with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, keeping the focus on what his return might eventually mean for Los Angeles and what Kansas City gave up to get the deal done. [Read more 🡒]
Carter Jensen Is Forcing A Royals Rookie History Debate
Carter Jensens emergence has sparked a fresh conversation around what counts as a meaningful rookie season in Royals history, especially when the discussion is focused strictly on first-year production instead of long-term reputation. That framing matters for Kansas City, because it puts Bobby Witt Jr. and a familiar group of debut standouts in the same lane as names like Mike Fiore, Eric Hosmer, Lou Piniella, Mike Avils, Angel Berroa and Bob Hamelin, all of whom made their mark quickly enough to earn a place in the franchises rookie lore.
The debate is not just about raw numbers, either. It is about impact, timing and how much weight to give a player who arrives and immediately changes the conversation around the lineup. Jensens run has added another layer to that old Royals argument, and for a fan base that still remembers those early bursts from past rookies, the question is whether his start belongs in that same historical tier or just nudges it a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
Royals May Have Finally Found A Starter They Can Trust
Daniel Lynch gave the Royals exactly what they have been searching for in the middle of a long season, a start that let Kansas City settle in and play from ahead. He worked five scoreless innings against Houston, allowed only two hits and a walk, and matched the kind of efficiency the club has struggled to get from the rotation, while the offense backed him immediately with John Raves two-run homer and enough late insurance to keep the game in hand.
The 5-2 win then turned into one of those nights the Royals have been hoping to stack more often, with the bullpen taking over and holding the line behind Craig Kimbrel, Bryan King, Enyel De Los Santos and Nate Pearson. Lynchs outing did not solve every question about the rotation, but it at least gave Kansas City a reason to think it may have found a starter it can trust to shorten games instead of forcing the relief corps into damage control. [Read more 🡒]