Astros beat the Royals 8-7 Saturday night in another wild game for Houston. Four home runs, a 91-minute tornado delay, and a botched double play in the ninth. The Astros have now won two straight in Kansas City and are one win away from taking the series. It's time for the Astros to use that momentum, and with Arrighetti on the mound tonight, they have a real shot at a full sweep.
How It Started
The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three innings. Massey, Pasquantino, and a defensive lapse by the Astros did the damage early.
The Astros Fight Back
Christian Walker hit his 18th homer in the fourth, a two-run shot to cut it to 3-2. Then Lane Thomas answered with a solo shot to make it 4-2. Brice Matthews then hit a 434-foot homer in the fifth to tie it at 4-4. Matthews has now homered in back to back games.
The home runs kept coming. Jake Meyers, in his 500th major league game, hit a solo shot in the sixth to give the Astros their first lead at 5-4. But the Royals answered with Carter Jensen's bases-clearing double to go ahead 7-5.
The Tornado Delay
The game was delayed 91 minutes in the eighth due to tornado warnings. Altuve hit a tying homer right before the delay to make it 7-7. A tie entering the delay only added to the drama, and to think the Royals really waited until the last minute to bring that tarp out. The game could have looked very different if they brought it out just a few pitches sooner.
The Ninth Inning
The Royals botched a potential inning-ending double play. Nick Loftin's errant throw allowed Loperfido to score the go-ahead run, a huge boost for the Astros. Bryan Abreu closed it out for his fifth save of the season, and Bryan King got the win.
The Astros have now hit 10 homers in three straight games. Looks like the rest of the Astros are taking a page out of Yordan Alvarez's book, and it's working. The offense is on fire at exactly the right time, and the Astros improve to 33-39 with the win.
This afternoon Arrighetti faces the Royals with a chance to take the series. The perfect Astros pitcher to take the mound for a full sweep.
