Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena drove in three runs apiece and Chas McCormick went 3-for-4 with three runs for the Houston Astros, who avoided a sweep in Kansas City by beating the Royals 7-3 on Sunday.

Houston’s Hunter Brown (4-1) pitched six innings, allowing an earned run on seven hits. He finished with nine strikeouts and one walk.

Jonathan India reached three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 for his third multi-hit game in his last four starts. Kansas City had 11 hits but stranded seven runners.

Kris Bubic (2-2) gave up four runs on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out four.

After losing 2-0 on Friday and Saturday, the Astros ended the series on an upswing by pounding out nine hits, including five for extra bases.

McCormick started the Astros’ third with a leadoff single. After Pena lined out, Isaac Paredes walked and Alvarez put Houston up with a three-run home run, his third of the season, that went 436 feet to center field.

McCormick doubled to center to start the fifth and scored on Pena’s line drive single to left. An inning later, Pena’s two-out double to left off Chris Stratton plated Zach Dezenzo and McCormick.

Yainer Diaz homered for the second time this season on an opposite-field blast to right off Angel Zerpa in the seventh.

Brown saw his major league-best scoreless innings streak end at 28 when Bobby Witt Jr.’s fifth-inning double to left scored India, who had singled. Both hits came with two outs. Still, it was vastly better compared to the last time he pitched at Kaufman Stadium. Brown did not get out of the first on April 11, 2024, as he allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits in two-thirds of an inning.

India’s sacrifice fly off Bryan King in the Royals’ seventh drove Cavan Biggio home.

While Kansas City’s winning streak snapped at six, Witt’s double extended his hitting streak to 19, the longest currently in the majors.

–Field Level Media