John Rave and Michael Massey smacked home runs in support of left-hander Daniel Lynch IV, who twirled five shutout innings to lead the visiting Kansas City Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
The Royals (67-85) squared the three-game series and set up a decisive game on Thursday. The Astros (76-76) dropped into a tie atop the American League West with the Texas Rangers (76-76), who beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3.
Massey, who ended up 3-for-5, led off the fourth inning with a bloop single. Rave followed two batters later with his sixth home run, snapping a scoreless tie. Rave drilled a 2-2 cutter from Astros starter Cristian Javier 366 feet to right field.
Javier (2-6) departed with one out in the sixth with two runners on base. Astros reliever Bryan King cleaned up that mess, and Javier capped his ledger with two runs allowed on five hits and three walks. He struck out two.
The Royals’ three-run eighth inning padded the lead to 5-0. Massey led off that frame with his 12th home run, clanking the first pitch from Astros reliever Enyel De Los Santos off the right field foul pole. Josh Rojas and Isaac Collins walked with two outs before Carter Jensen followed with a double to right, plating Rojas. Collins also scored on the play due to right fielder Jorge Barrosa’s throwing error.
Lynch (6-5) cruised through his eighth start since joining the rotation last month. He retired seven consecutive batters following Jeremy Pena’s leadoff double in the first, and he retired the final seven batters he faced, starting with Yordan Alvarez’s inning-ending double play in the third.
Lynch permitted two hits and a walk while fanning three.
Royals reliever Anthony Gose preserved the two-run lead in the seventh by retiring pinch hitter Nelson Velazquez and Daulton Varsho with two runners on base.
Houston got on the scoreboard thanks to Isaac Paredes’ eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Yainer Diaz homered off Royals reliever Steven Cruz leading off the ninth, his 12th of the year.