Salvador Perez sealed the deal with a clutch single in the 10th inning, securing the Kansas City Royals’ fifth straight win with a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
The Royals started the 10th with Garrett Hampson on second base, and Perez wasted no time driving him home with a single to center field against Wander Suero (0-1).
“We’re putting in the effort and giving it our all, especially now with newfound confidence,” Perez commented. James McArthur (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win for the Royals.
Perez and Nelson Velázquez both contributed with two hits each for the Royals, while Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia each chipped in with an RBI. The Royals’ bullpen, featuring Nick Anderson, Chris Stratton, John Schreiber, and McArthur, delivered five scoreless innings, allowing only four hits in relief of starting pitcher Cole Ragans.
Ragans faced some early challenges, particularly in the first inning, when the Astros loaded the bases with three consecutive singles, resulting in one run scored. Despite not having his best stuff, Ragans managed to limit the damage.
Yordan Alvarez led the offensive charge for the Astros with four hits and two RBIs, while Jeremy Peña added two hits and a run scored.
Although Houston had several scoring opportunities, going 5 for 18 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base, they couldn’t capitalize on them.
On the pitching side, Houston’s Cristian Javier allowed three runs, two of which were earned, and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. His scoreless streak to start the season came to an end at 15 innings when Garcia’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning put the Royals on the board.
Witt later drove in Hunter Renfroe with a triple and scored on an error by third baseman Alex Bregman.
