KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Royals knew theyd face a much taller task this weekend against the Houston Astros than they had during their recent four-series win streak. The Astros have World Series aspirations and just might finish the regular season with the best record in baseball.
The Royals simply didnt have the firepower and depth to matchup with arguably the ALs best, and it showed in the Astros three-game sweep.
The Astros smacked Royals pitching for 16 hits in the series finale as the Royals lost 12-3 in front of an announced 17,205 on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The Astros, who scored 15 runs or more twice last week against Seattle and Oakland, hit three home runs on top of three other extra-base hits Sunday.
The Royals left-handed tandem of Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery held the Astros to three runs over 11 innings between their two starts on Friday and Saturday.
Sunday, the Astros bats got started early and chased Royals starting pitcher Jakob Junis (9-14) from the game in less than three innings. Junis allowed five runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings.
The Royals (55-95) scored the games first run on a Jorge Soler RBI triple in the first inning, but they didnt score again until the fifth they trailed 7-2.
Astros starter Wade Miley (14-5) allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings.
The Astros (98-53) tacked on runs in the seventh (one) and eighth (four).
The Royals scored a run in the ninth on a infield single by Erick Mejia.
The Royals begin a seven-game road trip, their final trip of the season, on Monday night in Oakland. Right-hander Glenn Sparkman (4-11, 5.94) will start for the Royals, while Tanner Roark (10-8, 4.01) will start for the Athletics.
