Royals lose late lead, drop rubber match to Astros

HOUSTON, Texas (KMIZ)

The Royals have lost back-to-back series.

Kansas City (25-20) fell short of a series win against Houston (22-20) on Wednesday night, suffering a 4-3 defeat at Daikin Park. With that loss, the Royals have lost four of their last five games.

Manager Matt Quatraro's team assembled a two-run lead in the second inning with a solo shot from Maikel Garcia, his fifth home run of the season, and an RBI double from Jonathan India. Then, the Astros cut their 2-0 deficit in half with a solo home run from Isaac Paredes in the fourth frame, but Garcia added to his two-hit performance at the dish with an RBI double in the fifth inning.

However, Houston scored three unanswered runs in the final four frames, including a two-run eighth inning to erase Kansas City's lead. Mauricio Dubón delivered a game-tying RBI double in that frame, and Jeremy Peña hit a go-ahead RBI single, which made the difference in the outcome.

Michael Lorenzen tallied a 7.1-inning start, allowing seven hits on four earned runs with five strikeouts.

Offensively, Kansas City matched Houston's eight hits, but Garcia posted the team's only multi-hit effort with a game-high two RBI's.

Up next - The Royals return home to renew the I-70 series with the St. Louis Cardinals. The three-game series is scheduled to start on Friday, May 16 at 6:40 p.m.