Royals lose 5th straight in series against Astros

The Kansas City Royals are leaving Texas empty-handed after being swept by the Houston Astros.

Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez hit two home runs and premier starting pitcher Ronel Blanco quieted the Royals’ lineup as Houston concluded the four-game series with a 7-2 victory at Minute Maid Park.

It’s the Royals’ fifth consecutive loss. Kansas City is now 75-63, 3 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central race.

“The whole series was frustrating,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We didn’t come out of here with any wins. That’s what we play for, is to win every day. So, it stinks.”

That picture figures to change this week, as the Royals begin a three-game home series against the Guardians on Monday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Blanco limited the Royals’ offense on Sunday. The Astros right-hander pitched out of trouble and Kansas City failed to cash in some early scoring opportunities.

The Royals stranded two runners in the fifth inning when Blanco retired star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and second baseman Michael Massey. Blanco went on to earn his 10th victory of the season, allowing three hits in five scoreless innings. He walked four and struck out three.

“These guys are good,” Quatraro said. “We knew that coming in. ... We were in every game. They pitched extremely well and they got big hits. And we didn’t.”

New Royals acquisition Yuli Gurriel, Sunday’s designated hitter, drove in a run in the sixth inning. Later, Witt hit a solo home run — his 30th of the year — to pull the visitors within two runs.

But the Astros (75-62) surged forward again in the eighth inning. Catcher Yanier Diaz hit an RBI double and shortstop Jeremy Pena iced the outcome with a two-run single.

“Just tough,” Royals outfielder MJ Melendez said. “Didn’t seem like anything was going right. We started a couple of games ahead and got behind some. We started to make comebacks and just couldn’t fully put it together. Just how it goes. A little bit of a rough stretch.”

The Royals were swept in a series for the second time this season behind a superb Houston rotation. Kansas City was outscored 21 runs to nine in the series and finished 3-5 on this eight-game road trip.

Here are more notable aspects from Sunday’s game:

Alec Marsh undone by fourth inning

Marsh turned in a solid start against the Astros. He pitched a clean first inning and kept the Royals in the game early.

His pitches showed a lot of movement. He retired eight consecutive batters to open the game but ran into trouble — a pair of home runs by the hosts — in the fourth inning.

“It was pretty solid,” Marsh said of his outing. “All the pitches were shaping up to be what they should be and attacking the zone was nice. I mean, really, (they had) just two good swings on pitches that I thought were pretty good pitches.”

Alvarez hit a 369-foot blast over the right-field wall in the fourth, connecting on Marsh’s 81.6 mph curveball in the bottom of the strike zone. Later in the inning, Marsh walked outfielder Ben Gamel with two outs and first baseman Jon Singleton followed with a two-run homer.

“Just those two things,” Marsh said. “If you could have those back, you know, probably better results there.”

Marsh suffered his eighth loss, allowing four hits and three runs. He struck out five batters in five innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. reaches 30-homer mark again

Witt added another feather to his cap Sunday: his 30th home run of the year. It came in the seventh inning off Astros reliever Hector Neris.

The homer traveled 385 feet into the Crawford Boxes in left field. It was Witt’s second home run of the series and helped the Royals cut into a three-run deficit.

Last season, Witt hit 30 home runs and stole 49 bases to record the first 30/30 season in club history. He’s also the first Royals player to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons.

Witt needs just three more steals for a repeat performance of his 30/30 campaign. But it was a tough series for him at the plate overall: He was 2 for 15 in Houston.

What’s next on the Royals’ schedule

The Royals return home for a Labor Day clash against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. The American League Central rivals are battling for the division title.

Last week, the Royals took three of four from the Guardians at Progressive Field. But Cleveland still leads the division by 3 1/2 games as this series opens at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals will start veteran right-hander Michael Wacha on Monday afternoon. Wacha allowed five runs on Aug. 28 against the Guardians (Kansas City lost that game 7-5 to start its current five-game skid).

The Guardians will send right-hander Gavin Williams to the mound on Monday. He is 2-7 with a 4.99 ERA this season.

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