*Photo from KSTP-TV*
Slumping teams need wins any way they can get them, and this one was no exception. Salvador Perez homered, Bobby Witt Jr drove in a run, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Houston Astros with a 6-0 shutout victory on Saturday afternoon in Kansas City.
With the Royals in the midst of a slump, sitting at 16-34 and in last place in the AL Central, they got up to 17 wins with this shutout of the Astros, one of the most fearsome lineups in baseball. Perez drove in 3 runs to guide the Royals offense, engineering just their 3rd win in 10 games.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Perez's game that "Salvy stole the show for us today, and that’s the guy we want stealing the show. We want to see him come through and feel that confidence that we know he has as a weapon. To hit that homer and then drive the ball for a double, it was a great day for him."
The scoring didn't start in this one until the 6th inning. It was Perez who got the Royals on the board, whacking a two run home run to left field, making it 2-0 Royals on his 4th home run of the season. In the 8th inning, Witt Jr padded the lead for the Royals, making it 3-0 on an RBI single to center field, scoring Nicky Lopez.
Later in the 8th inning, Witt Jr came around to score on an RBI double from Perez, a shot into left field to make it a 4-0 lead for the Royals. With Perez and MJ Melendez on base, Hunter Dozier drove them both in to make it a 6-0 game, effectively sealing the win.
Getting the start for the Royals after being called up from Triple A was Kris Bubic, who threw 5 scoreless innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks. It was Collin Snider who got the win, improving to 4-2 with a shutout 6th inning. Arodys Vizcaino, Josh Staumont, and Scott Barlow came on in relief to end the game.
It was Luis Garcia toeing the rubber for the Astros, getting the short end of the stick in the loss. Garcia gave up two runs on 4 hits and one walk over 7 innings pitched, falling to 3-4 on the season. Rafael Montero gave up 4 runs while getting just two outs in the 8th inning, requiring Bryan Abreu to come on and finish the game.
Houston manager Dusty Baker offered his thoughts after the game, saying that "We left quite a few men on base and they didn’t. They are a contact team and know how to play in this ballpark, so we just have to chalk that one up to them beating us."
Up next, the Astros and Royals conclude their series on Sunday afternoon. Jonathan Heasley will be getting the start in the rubber game for the Royals, while Framber Valdez takes the mound for the Astros.
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