KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yordan Álvarez hit his 16th home run of the season and Framber Valdez won his fifth straight start for the Houston Astros, who beat the Kansas City Royals 7-4 on Sunday.
Álvarez led off the eighth inning with a 456-foot shot to right. It was one of three hits for him, extending his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .556 (15-for-27) with six multi-hit games in the span.
Jose Altuve opened the scoring with a one-out double in the third before scoring on Mauricio Dubon’s sacrifice fly. The Astros extended their lead to 3-0 in the fourth on Álvarez’s leadoff triple. Álvarez then scored on a wild pitch before Kyle Tucker lined his ninth homer to straightaway center.
Tucker added an RBI single during a three-run ninth inning.
Valdez (6-2) allowed only a third-inning leadoff single before the Royals got on the board in the sixth. Whit Merrifield led off the frame with a single, followed by Salvador Perez’s two-out drive over the center-field fence. Perez leads Kansas City with eight homers.
Valdez went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking three and striking out five. In his last six starts, Valdez has a 2.11 ERA (10 earned runs in 42 2/3 innings) and the Astros have won all six.
Perez’s RBI double in the eighth cut Houston’s lead to 4-3.
The Royals loaded the bases with two out in the ninth before Rafael Montero ended the threat for his fourth save.
Jonathan Heasley (0-3) worked six innings for Kansas City, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, with five strikeouts.
The Royals have not won a home series since April 17-19 when they took two of three from the Minnesota Twins.
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