Springer slam starts Astros' surge past Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- George Springer drove in five runs, four with a first-inning grand slam, and Colby Rasmus had four hits, including a solo homer in the eighth inning, as the Houston Astros crushed the Kansas City Royals 13-4 on Friday night.
Springer, who led off the game with a triple, missed the cycle by a double. Rasmus scored three runs and had two RBIs.
Dallas Keuchel (4-9) picked up his first victory in five June starts. Keuchel allowed four runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings, throwing 70 strikes in 98 pitches.
Cheslor Cuthbert hit his sixth home run in the seventh and drove in three Royals' runs.
The Astros sent 12 men to the plate in a nine-run first inning, which Springer led off with a triple and capped off the scoring with a grand slam. It was Springer's major league leading third grand slam this season.
The inning also included run-producing singles by Marwin Gonzalez, Cody Rasmus, Carlos Gomez and Jason Castro. Another run scored when shortstop Alcides Escobar dropped Evan Gattis' fly-ball to shallow left.
Royals starter Edinson Volquez faced three batters in the second and retired none before being retired. Dillon Gee replaced Volquez and allowed all three runs to score, skyrocketing Volquez's ERA from 4.12 to 5.15. Springer added his fifth RBI on a ground out.
It was Volquez's shortest outing since Aug. 23, 2013, when with the San Diego Padres he allowed six runs in 2/3 of an innings against the Chicago Cubs.
By the fourth inning, Springer and Rasmus each had three hits, while Springer was only a double shy of the cycle.
The Royals got a run in the second when Paulo Orlando tripled and scored on Cheslor Cuthbert's double. In the fourth, Orlando had an infield single, moved to third on Brett Eibner's double and scored on Cuthbert's ground out.
Alcides Escobar homered on Dallas Keuchel's first pitch of the fifth, his first since Aug. 21 at Boston.
NOTES: INF Raul Mondesi will begin a rehab assignment Saturday with high-Class A Wilmington at Winston-Salem. Mondesi, the Royals' top prospect in the minors, was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for violating the joint drug prevention and treatment program. He will be eligible to resume his Double-A Northwest Arkansas season on July 4. ... 2B Jose Altuve singled in the first inning, extending his streak to reaching base safely to 27 games. ... Royals LF Alex Gordon, who is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha, will probably come off the disabled list Saturday. ... The Astros plan on adding 3B A.J. Reed to the major league roster on Saturday. He is hitting .266 with 11 home runs in 59 games for Triple-A Fresno. ... Astros RHP Mike Fiers and Royals RHP Chris Young are the scheduled starters for Saturday.