Kansas City Royals Tie Franchise Record With Explosive Start Against Houston Astros

The Kansas City Royals opened Thursday's showdown against the Houston Astros with a bang, getting off to one of their hottest starts in franchise history.

Third baseman Maikel Garcia led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, followed by a single from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and another from designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino. The Royals were up 2-0 before the Astros even recorded an out, and the onslaught didn't stop there.

Right fielder MJ Melendez doubled to right. Left fielder Nelson Velázquez notched an RBI single. Second baseman Nick Loftin sent a grounder up the middle for a two-RBI single, and he advanced on a single from catcher Freddy Fermin.

Kansas City had batted through the order, bringing Garcia back up to the plate with two outs. He drove in two runs on a single, then came around to score himself when Witt crushed a two-run home run to right.

Pasquantino and first baseman Salvador Perez added singles to keep the rally alive, then Astros pitcher Hunter Brown loaded the bases by walking Melendez. Martinez finally got the hook in favor of Seth Martinez, who struck out Velazquez to escape the jam.

When it was all said and done, the Royals had scored nine round and recorded 11 hits in the bottom of the first inning alone. As noted by MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that tied the franchise's all-time single-inning hits record.

Who ordered the nine-run inning? pic.twitter.com/Cp7re3pb3a
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 11, 2024

Center fielder Kyle Isbel was the only Royals batter not to record at least one hit in the opening frame. He did earn an infield single in the bottom of the fifth, though, making a delayed arrival to the hit party.

Kansas City held a 9-0 lead entering the second inning, and Houston didn't chip away at the deficit until they plated one run in the fourth. The Royals still lead 9-3 midway through the sixth inning.

The Astros retired 13 of the next 14 batters after Brown got pulled. 11 of those 13 outs came via either strikeouts or groundouts.

Although Kansas City entered the day 8-4, compared to Houston's 4-9 record, the Astros were still held up as 1.5-run favorites by FanDuel Sportsbook ahead of first pitch.

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