Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez power Houston Astros past Kansas City Royals to start homestand

The final two-week stretch of the Houston Astros‘ season began with a promising night from players who will have to buoy them in a potential playoff run.

Jeremy Peña, the struggling shortstop and leadoff man, hit two home runs. Yordan Alvarez, the slugger in a six-week power dip, struck another. Hunter Brown, the ace who could not protect a four-run lead in his previous start in Philadelphia, looked dominant for five innings.

A bullpen that has been the Astros’ backbone all season protected the lead their stars provided. And the Astros secured a 4-2 win at Daikin Park to open a series against the Royals, a last-place team playing out its season, and maintain a minimal American League West lead.

Houston ensured it would remain at least a game ahead of the Rangers, pending Texas’ outcome Tuesday night, with 11 games to play. As crucial, perhaps, were the players who keyed the win at Daikin Park.

Peña’s slump and Alvarez’s drop in production have contributed to the Astros’ diminished offense since the Aug. 3 trade deadline. As if to illustrate it, the pair combined for all four of the Astros’ hits Tuesday.

Peña had three, including two homers off Royals starter Michael Wacha. Alvarez hit his 39th home run of the season, but just his fourth in his last 36 games, a two-run shot against Wacha. Alvarez also drew two walks. All other Astros hitters were a combined 0-for-22 with zero walks.

Brown worked five innings of one-run ball while tying his season high with 10 strikeouts. He handed a 4-1 lead to his bullpen. Bennett Sousa allowed a home run to Vinnie Pasquantino in the sixth. AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader secured the final nine outs, moving the Astros to 76-75.

ASTROS 4, ROYALS 2

a-singled for Pasquantino in the 9th. b-popped out for Massey in the 9th. c-struck out for Rave in the 9th.

LOB_Kansas City 5, Houston 3. 2B_Jensen (32). HR_Pasquantino (12), off Sousa; Peña 2 (19), off Wacha; Alvarez (39), off Wacha. RBIs_Jensen (73), Pasquantino (49), Peña 2 (49), Alvarez 2 (98). SB_Witt (41), Collins (8).

Runners left in scoring position_Kansas City 3 (Witt, Tolbert, Massey); Houston 0. RISP_Kansas City 1 for 6; Houston 0 for 0.

HBP_Wacha (Diaz). WP_Hader.

ABS Challenge_Brown (Ball-Confirmed); Rave (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Brown (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Blubaugh (Ball-Overturned to Strike).

Umpires_Home, Rob Drake; First, Stu Scheuwater; Second, Jordan Baker; Third, Junior Valentine.

T_2:21. A_28,635 (41,000).

How did Hunter Brown pitch?

The Royals entered with the sixth-lowest strikeout rate in the majors. Brown’s previous two starts were derailed by one difficult inning. He was dominant for most of this one.

Brown tied a season high with 10 strikeouts, the fourth time in his career he has recorded that many in an outing. He generated 15 whiffs on 36 swings, including 10 against his sinker and curveball. He threw his slider harder than usual, primarily against left-handed hitters, and mostly shelved his changeup.

The mix seemed to work. The Royals struck two hits against him in five innings. Brown did issue three walks, however, and his last two innings were laborious. He needed 47 pitches to get his final six outs, which shortened his night.

Brown escaped a two-on, one-out jam with two strikeouts in the fourth. He nearly ended the fifth on a strikeout, but Isaac Collins challenged a 3-2 pitch and won. Collins stole second and scored when Carter Jensen sliced a double just out of the reach of sliding left fielder LaMonte Wade Jr.

That was the lone blemish against Brown, who induced a groundout by Bobby Witt Jr. to end the inning. With Brown at 91 pitches, and the bullpen fresh after an off-day, the Astros lifted their ace after five. He has a 3.43 ERA in 97 innings this season.

Jeremy Peña shows a spark

Peña’s prolonged funk has been a big reason for the Astros’ offensive struggles since the trade deadline. Houston entered Tuesday with the third-fewest runs scored in the majors since Aug. 3, a stretch during which Peña was batting .170 with a .518 OPS. He was 7-for-47 to start September.

Leading off the first inning, Peña crushed the first pitch he saw from Wacha, a center-cut cutter, 440 feet for the second-longest home run of his career. In the third, he hit a curveball into the Crawford Boxes. It marked Peña’s fifth career multi-homer game and third this season.

Pitch selection has been an issue for Peña. In the fifth, he laid off a 1-1 slider from Wacha away and lined a 2-2 fastball up in the zone for a single to center at 107.7 mph off the bat. That brought up Alvarez, who homered on a full-count changeup from Wacha to give the Astros a 4-1 lead.

At his best, Peña can be both catalyst and run producer for Houston’s offense. Tuesday offered perhaps the most encouraging sign in weeks that he can regain that form at a critical time.

Why did Astros players wear No. 21?

With Major League Baseball observing Roberto Clemente Day league-wide Tuesday, a handful of Astros wore No. 21 jerseys for their game against the Royals.

Manager Joe Espada, catcher Christian Vázquez, outfielder Nelson Velázquez and hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, who all share Puerto Rican descent with Clemente, wore No. 21 jerseys. So did Peña, Alvarez, second baseman Jose Altuve and catcher Yainer Diaz, who wears the No. 21 but wore a nameless jersey.

Closer Josh Hader, meanwhile, was recognized pregame as the Astros’ nominee for this year’s Roberto Clemente award, which recognizes an MLB player for “extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

Hader is the Astros’ nominee for a second straight year. He, too, wore a No. 21 jersey, which is an option for nominees for the Clemente Award.

Subscribe

There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez power Houston Astros past Kansas City Royals to start homestand.