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ALDS Game 4: Kansas City Royals rally in eighth inning to defeat Houston Astros

By Tim Haberin

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The Houston Astros appeared to have all but punched their ticket to the ALCS. Then the Kansas City Royals came to bat in the top of the eighth inning in Game 4 of the ALDS. The Royals scored five times in that frame to erase a four-run deficit and send themselves toward a series-tying 9-6 victory.

Kansas City got on the board first in the second inning at Minute Maid Park in Houston via a two-run blast off the bat of catcher Salvador Perez. From that point it was all Astros for an large chunk of the game.

Houston began demonstrating the slugging prowess that helped it finish the regular season with the second-most home runs in baseball. Center fielder Carlos Gomez smacked a solo shot in the second inning off Royals starter Yordano Ventura that cut KC’s lead in half. Rookie shortstop Carlos Correa followed up with a solo homer of his own in the third to tie the game.

Correa wasn’t finished driving in runs, though. The AL Rookie of the Year favorite hit an RBI double in the fifth inning that scored a hustling George Springer to give the ‘Stros a 3-2 advantage. In the seventh he went yard again, this time with a two-run jack that stretched the lead to 5-2. At just 21 years old, Correa has already seemed to prove that not even the postseason stage is too big for him.

Colby Rasmus continued his playoff rampage in the seventh inning by belting a solo homer, his fourth in this postseason, to stake the Astros out to a 6-2 lead.

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Houston starting pitcher Lance McCullers, another promising young rookie, turned in a solid outing. He didn’t allow another run to score after Perez’s second-inning homer and departed after 6.1 innings of two-hit, two-run ball. Unfortunately for the Astros, the bullpen didn’t have nearly as impressive of an afternoon.

The Royals’ number-nine hitter Alex Rios began the top of the eighth with a leadoff single. Alcides Escobar and Ben Zobrist added singles of their own to load the bases with no outs. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain then gave KC its fifth consecutive single, scoring Rios and cutting the deficit to 6-3.

The Astros pulled reliever Will Harris in favor of lefty Tony Sipp, but the Royals didn’t let up. Eric Hosmer (you guessed it) singled to right field to plate another run and bring Kansas City to within two. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales proceeded to hit a bouncer up the middle that deflected off Sipp’s glove and over the reach of Correa’s glove into center field. Two more runs scored, tying the game and completing the Royals’ improbable comeback.

Houston would call on its closer Luke Gregerson to try to end the inning, but not before the Royals took the lead on an RBI grounder from Alex Gordon. Kansas City nabbed a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth with a deep two-run homer into the Astros bullpen from Eric Hosmer. Royals closer Wade Davis tossed two frames of scoreless relief to seal the deal.

With the 9-6 win, the Royals force a decisive ALDS Game 5 on Wednesday night back in their home ballpark of Kauffman Stadium. They are scheduled to send Johnny Cueto to the mound, while the Astros are expected to counter with Collin McHugh.

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