Jeremy Peña homered twice, Yordan Alvarez added his 39th of the season, and Houston's pitching held off Kansas City to open the final homestand with a win.
The Houston Astros kicked off their final homestand of the season at Daikin Park with a win over the Kansas City Royals, 4-2. Home runs secured the win in this one, and Yordan Alvarez moved one home run closer to Junior Caminero, now sitting just two behind him.
Hunter Brown took the mound for Houston and was on fire Tuesday night, starting things out with a few punch-outs and striking out double digits. Brown's main room for growth would be to limit those walks, but he does make up for it with his ability to limit hits. Overall, great outing for the ace.
Another superstar for the night was Jeremy Peña, aka "Jeremy Jalapeña." The shortstop kicked off the game with a home run to put the Astros on the board for his first at-bat. His second at-bat was déjà vu for the powerhouse, as he crushed another one. In his third at-bat, he stepped up with a base hit. At that point, all three hits in the game belonged to Peña. Outstanding at-bats for Peña Tuesday night.
Then, of course, Yordan Alvarez got exactly what he needed: an at-bat with a runner on, and Alvarez did what he does best: crush a home run. His 39th of the season. Just two back from Junior Caminero, who had hit one earlier that day. That two-run shot put the Astros up 4-1.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a home run off reliever Bennett Sousa to make it a two-run game, but it wasn't enough.
AJ Blubaugh came in and worked a scoreless inning of relief. He also became the first Major League Baseball reliever to throw 90 innings exclusively out of the bullpen without making a single start.
Josh Hader came in to close things out for his 26th save of the season, another solid outing from Hader to secure the series-opening win.
The Houston Astros will now go on to face the Kansas City Royals for the second game of the series at Daikin Park.
This was a much-needed win coming off a brutal loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that the Astros are in their final homestand of the season against a significantly weaker team, this is a great time for them to truly get ahead in the AL West, maintain their lead, and secure a playoff spot.
