KANSAS CITY -- The stars were out for the Astros on Sunday. With right-hander Hunter Brown continuing his masterful pitching and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez finding his vaunted stroke with a majestic three-run homer, it was a day of celebration for Houston all the way around.
The combination of Brown¡¯s power arm and Alvarez¡¯s power bat provided the springboard for the Astros to earn a 7-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium after suffering back-to-back shutout losses in the opening two games of the series.
Brown¡¯s scoreless streak of 28 innings, which was tops in the Major Leagues, finally ended in the fifth when Bobby Witt Jr. ripped an RBI double into the left-field corner. Otherwise, Brown tossed six frames of one-run ball.
Houston has been waiting for Alvarez to find his timing, but manager Joe Espada had been adamant recently that the big slugger was ¡°close.¡± It all came together for Alvarez when he lined a double off the wall in right-center against Kris Bubic in the first inning before launching a Statcast-projected 436-foot moonshot well over the center-field wall in the third to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.
Espada made a subtle change in his lineup on Sunday, flipping Isaac Paredes and Alvarez. In the opening two games of the series, Alvarez hit No. 2 and Paredes was No. 3 in the order. But Espada preferred Alvarez in the No. 3 slot on Sunday.
¡°I just want to get some traffic for Yordan,¡± Espada said before the series finale.
Sure enough, the Astros put two men on in the third when Alvarez hit his three-run blast to end a 26-inning scoreless streak dating back to the third inning of Wednesday's win against Toronto. With the win, the Astros snapped an overall five-game losing streak at Kauffman Stadium dating back to last year.
¡°It starts with Hunter Brown,¡± Espada said. ¡°We needed a win and had the right guy on the bump. And Yordan gives us the big swing. Even with someone who has been as successful as Yordan, you have moments where you are trying to find your way. He¡¯s starting to get comfortable in the box. That three-run homer could be the start of a really long and successful stretch.¡±
Alvarez started the day hitting just .200 with two homers. But the double and homer in his first two at-bats were signs of the vintage Alvarez.
¡°That¡¯s our big man,¡± said shortstop Jeremy Pe?a, who had three RBIs while stationed in the leadoff spot. ¡°When he¡¯s going, we¡¯re going.¡±
Alvarez has been working diligently to find his power stroke and hopes Sunday¡¯s performance will be the start of a hot stretch.
¡°Felt good,¡± Alvarez said through an interpreter. ¡°Just going to the batting cages and making an adjustment.¡±
Brown had to work through some traffic and did so by leaning into his changeup as the outing wore on. He finished with nine strikeouts through his six innings and now has a 1.22 ERA through March and April.
When he had last appeared at Kauffman Stadium just over a calendar year ago, Brown recorded just two outs while allowing nine runs and 11 hits. But that performance wasn¡¯t on his mind when he took the mound Sunday.
¡°I just took it as another start,¡± Brown said.
The Astros now head home for a three-game series against Detroit and are hopeful that they can build off a game in which the pitching and hitting came together in perfect harmony.
¡°When we all start clicking, we¡¯re going to be a dangerous team,¡± said center fielder Chas McCormick, who had three hits in the series finale. ¡°It was fun to see what happened out there today.¡±