Springer was injured when he was hit on the wrist by a 95 miles per hour fastball thrown by Edinson Volquez in the fifth inning of Houston’s win over Kansas City on Wednesday night.
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In the fourth inning Volquez served up a homerun to Astros designated hitter Chris Carter to cut the Royals lead to 3-1. “I was real proud of our guys”, Astros manager A.J. “We’re going to test that because we’re going to need a lot of good things to happen for us to continue this momentum”.
Prior to departing Wednesday’s contest, Springer went 1-for-2 with a run scored. On the season, he’s batting.
Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Marwin Gonzalez hit a home run and Evan Gattis added two RBI for Houston. That ended Volquez’s day as he finished with five innings pitched while giving up five runs on eight hits.
Astros starter Vincent Velasquez got two quick outs to start the game before Lorenzo Cain tripled to center and Kendrys Morales homered to left-center on back-to-back pitches, giving the Royals an early 2-0 lead. Presley played in 89 games for the Astros in 2014, hitting.
“It just got away from him right there”, Royals manager Ned Yost said of Volquez. “He pitched well enough to win tonight but obviously the team win is more important”.
The performance comes after Keuchel (10-3) threw a six-hit shutout in a win over the New York Yankees in his previous start.
Astros closer Luke Gregerson (3-1) retired the Royals in order in the ninth inning and was credited with the win.
However, following Rios’ hit, Velasquez rebounded to retire 13 consecutive batters. But the rookie still faced the minimum in that inning thanks to a double play.
Gonzalez’s homer, which landed several rows into the stands in right field, started the scoring in the fifth inning to make it 3-2. Altuve drove Jason Castro in with a single later in the frame and Gattis made it 5-3 with his two-run base hit to right.
The Royals were without shortstop Alcides Escobar and first baseman Eric Hosmer, who both sat out with finger injuries. Hosmer said he was feeling better on Tuesday and that most of the swelling was gone. OF Colby Rasmus was out for the fifth straight game because of a skin infection on his left arm caused by a bug bite.
The Royals will try to end their three-game losing streak as they begin a three game set with the Minnesota Twins.
The ‘Stros start a 3-game series against the Red Sox Friday night in Boston.
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The Astros called up outfielder Alex Presley for cover in the short term. Acquired from the Cubs on January 19 along with 3B Luis Valbuena, Straily has spent the season with Triple-A Fresno, compiling a 6-6 record and 4.06 ERA.
