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Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch watched his team load the bases in front of hot-hitting Evan Gattis Redskins Authentic Jerseys , and all he wanted was the big designated hitter to send a drive to the outfield and keep the line moving.

Hinch had to settle for one that cleared the fence.

Cleared the bases, too.

Gattis crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning Friday night, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa also went deep, and the Astros rolled past the Kansas City Royals 7-3 for their ninth straight win.

”We’re shaking hands after a lot of his at-bats,” Hinch said of Gattis, who has five homers in the first eight games of the Astros’ road trip. ”When guys are hot, there’s a ton of energy and a ton of fun.”

Charlie Morton (8-1) overcame another bout of wildness, at one point walking three straight batters, to last six innings for Houston. He allowed four hits and four walks while striking out nine.

Brad Peacock, Tony Sipp and Collin McHugh each contributed a scoreless inning in relief to wrap up the Astros’ latest win. All but one during their streak has come away from Minute Maid Park.

”I think our guys are just methodically going through their days,” Hinch said. ”This is a long road trip and it’s a lot more fun when you’re winning.”

The Royals, meanwhile Cardinals Elite Jerseys , have lost four straight and 10 of 11.

Jakob Junis (5-7) served up all three Houston homers, getting tagged for six runs on seven hits and a walk. It was his fourth straight loss, his last win coming against the New York Yankees on May 18.

”We were putting some really good swings on it. We were hitting some balls hard,” Morton said with a grin. ”Really, I was just waiting for the dam to break.”

The Royals gave Junis some support early, jumping ahead 2-0 in the third on a two-out double by Mike Moustakas. It was a buoying at-bat considering the meek-hitting Kansas City lineup managed a single run in getting swept by Cincinnati during a two-game set this week.

It appeared the lead might stand, too, the way Junis breezed through the first three innings.

Bregman changed all that with his ninth homer of the season, a shot that just skirted the left-field foul pole. Correa added his 455-foot home run two batters later to tie the game.

Morton’s wildness allowed the Royals to regain the lead in the fifth, but Junis coughed it back up in the sixth. He gave up three straight one-out singles to load the bases for Gattis, whose soaring, 405-foot grand slam was the second of his career and third by the Astros this season.

It was also the second slam permitted by the Royals in their last two games.

”I was hoping we would get either a flyout or a mishit. I didn’t think I left it right over the plate Falcons Elite Jerseys ,” Junis said. ”I thought it was up and away. He just put a good swing on it.”

ASTROS MOVES

Houston recalled 3B Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno and placed LHP Reymin Guduan on the paternity leave list. White was hitting .338 with 13 homers and a .444 on-base percentage, the second-highest in all of Triple-A. Guduan can miss no more than three games while on the paternity list.

ROYALS MOVES

Kansas City selected the contract of RHP Brandon Maurer from Triple-A Omaha and optioned RHP Jason Adam to the same club. Maurer was 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA for the Royals before he was sent outright to the minor league club on May 3. He’s worked 11 straight scoreless appearances at Omaha.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros RHP Joe Smith (elbow inflammation) rejoined the team, and Hinch said the reliever is ”pain free and the next step is to initiate a throwing program.” That could happen by the end of the weekend.

Royals OF Jorge Soler left after stumbling out of the batter’s box in the sixth. He was taken for X-rays that revealed a broken left foot. ”It will be awhile when your feet are hurt,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”They’re going to give it a CT scan or whatever. We’ll have a better idea. X-rays showed a positive break. We don’t think it’s a surgical thing right now. The CT scan will give us more of a look.”

UP NEXT

Struggling LHP Dallas Keuchel (3-8, 4.45 ERA) starts for the Astros and LHP Danny Duffy (3-6, 5.28) gets the nod for the Royals for a Saturday matinee with temperatures expected to approach triple digits.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had what looked like an out turn into a home run. They made a couple of questionable decisions, endured some nerve-wracking moments in the ninth inning.

But they’re leaving Arizona with a win, which is all that really matters. Everything else can wait.

Jordy Mercer homered and had three RBIs, Jameson Taillon pitched seven effective innings and the Pirates avoided a sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

”We won. Let’s get on a plane and go home,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ”We can peel back the layers later.”

The Pirates blew a five-run lead in the opener and were knocked for 13 runs in the second game. Pittsburgh ended Arizona’s sweep bid with a four-run second inning against Zack Greinke (5-5) and a sterling performance by Taillon (4-5).

Taillon gave up a two-run homer to David Peralta in the first inning when the ball popped out of left fielder Austin Meadows‘ glove and over the wall. Taillon got better as the game went along, working out of a jam in the second inning and allowing two runs on six hits to help end Arizona’s five-game winning streak.

Felipe Vazquez gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Jon Jay in the ninth before striking out Jake Lamb with the bases loaded for his 12th save.

”When you run into a team that’s pesky with two strikes, they’re tough to put away Bills Elite Jerseys ,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ”You’re going to run into some situations when you make mistakes.”

Taillon has enjoyed pitching in the afternoon, entering Wednesday’s game 8-2, including 3-0 on the road before the sun goes down. He got an unfortunate break in the first inning, when Peralta’s deep shot caromed out of Meadows’ glove as he leaped near the wall.

Taillon struck out Paul Goldschmidt with the bases loaded to end the second inning and struck out four.

”It was a weird start, but I felt really good,” Taillon said. ”I kind of had that mindset, like let’s see if I could get my pitch count right through six.”

Greinke has been dominant at Chase Field the past two seasons, going 16-1 with 2.53 ERA at Chase Field since 2017.

Arizona’s ace struggled with his command against the Pirates, walking four while striking out seven. Greinke walked two in Pittsburgh’s four-run second inning, giving up a two-run double to Mercer and a run-scoring double to Josh Bell. Mercer hit a solo homer in the fourth to put Pittsburgh up 5-2.

Greinke was lifted after walking two in the fifth to load the bases with two outs. He allowed five runs on five hits and struck out seven.

”I felt good, but every time I put a pitch over the plate, they hit it good Panthers Elite Jerseys ,” said Greinke, who had not lost at Chase Field since last Aug. 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ”As long as I’m able to make good pitches it’s fine, but I wasn’t able to do that every time.”

MEADOWS’ MISCUE

One of the things the Pirates will look at when they get home is Meadows’ miscue that led to Peralta’s home run. He leaped to catch the ball just before colliding with the wall, but the ball appeared to carom out before contact was made.

”I haven’t said anything to him; we’ll show him the video,” Hurdle said. ”There’s room to go get the ball and it kind of looked like it was the fence or he drifted on the ball, there was hesitation. He had time to get under that ball or at least get to it quicker.”

DIAMONDBACKS MOVES

Arizona reinstated C Jeff Mathis from paternity leave and optioned RHP Braden Shipley to Triple-A Reno. Mathis’ wife, Jenna, gave birth to their second daughter on Sunday.

TRAINER’S TABLE

Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli returned to the lineup after missing three games while being monitored for post-concussion symptoms. He was struck on the mask by a foul ball Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (strained right oblique) is expected to throw about 50 pitches in his rehab start with Single-A Visalia on Thursday.

UP NEXT

The Pirates have a day off before right-hander Chad Kuhl the Cincinnati Reds Friday at home. Kuhl is 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA in four career starts against the Reds.

Arizona RHP Matt Koch is 2-0 with a 5.29 ERA his past three starts heading into Thursday’s game against the New York Mets.

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