*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
When the Kansas City Royals offense hits like this, they can be a good team. Hunter Dozier homered, Andrew Benintendi had 3 hits, and the Royals defeated the Houston Astros with a 7-4 victory on Wednesday night in Houston.
Although this win is just their 4th in their last 10, it's a strong win for the Royals nonetheless, who had watched two early leads vanish against Houston earlier in the series. Dozier's 3 RBI game and a 3 hit, one RBI game from Benintendi got it going for the Royals in this one.
Benintendi said of his approach at the plate that he is "Just constantly looking at where the catchers are set up and seeing where they’re trying to go, then also looking at where guys are playing in the field. Taking what the defense gives you, and just trying to stay within myself and keep things simple."
The Royals provided some early fireworks in the first inning. Whit Merrifield hit a solo home run, and Dozier added a two run shot, making it a 3-0 lead for the Royals. In the second inning, Emmanuel Rivera hit a solo home run for the Royals, and in the bottom half, Jake Meyers hit an RBI double, making it a 4-1 game.
In the 3rd, Dozier got that one run back, hitting an RBI double to score Benintendi and make it 5-1. In the 4th, an RBI single from Kyle Tucker and an RBI groundout from Meyers cut the Houston deficit to 5-3. In the 6th, Aledmys Diaz homered to cut the deficit to 5-4. In the 9th, an RBI double from Benintendi and an RBI single from MJ Melendez gave the Royals some breathing room, making it a 7-4 score.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said that "I was just real proud of the offense. Coming out, even though the last couple of days we get something going and not being able to put it away, but come back resilient and aggressive. And you can tell they believe in themselves and that's a beautiful thing."
Getting the start and the win for the Royals was Brad Keller, who allowed 4 runs on 5 hits over 5 2/3 innings pitched. Jose Cuas finished the 6th for Keller, followed by a shutout inning from Dylan Coleman. Taylor Clarke pitched a scoreless 8th inning, and Scott Barlow picked up the save in the 9th, his 13th of the season.
Cristian Javier started for the Astros, and was roughed up a little, charged with 5 runs over 5 innings. After Javier departed, it was Bryan Abreu who came on and pitched 1 1/3 innings, with Ryne Stanek handling the next 1 2/3 innings. Hector Neris then pitched an inning, being charged with two runs in the 9th inning.
Astros manager Dusty Baker summed it up after the game, saying that "They jumped us early. They were hitting the ball out of the ballpark and the game boiled down to, they really beat us in the first and the ninth. It was a bookend game for them."
Up next, the Royals and Astros conclude their series on Thursday afternoon. Kris Bubic got the start for the Royals, while Justin Verlander goes for the Astros.
Comments
Post a Comment