KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lance McCullers took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer in a five-run ninth as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Thursday night.
Altuve's ninth home run came off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) with Josh Reddick, who walked on four pitches to lead off the inning, aboard. Herrera has yielded seven home runs in 24 1/3 innings after giving up only six in 72 innings last season.
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Herrera retired only one of the five batters he faced and was charged with four runs, three hits and a walk. The inning also included a two-run single by Jake Marisnick.
Lorenzo Cain's one-out triple in the seventh ended McCuller's no-hit bid. Cain drilled a 3-0 pitch to center. He scored on Mike Moustakas' two-out single to tie the score.
McCullers walked Jorge Bonifacio with one out in the first, and Alcides Escobar in the sixth for the only base runners the Royals had before Cain's triple.
Royals starter Jason Hammel allowed one run and four hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out four.
The only run off Hammel came on a balk in the sixth inning. Nori Aoki hit a ground ball single to left to lead off the inning and went to third on George Springer's single. Hammel made a move to throw to first and the ball slipped out of his glove.
McCullers was removed after seven innings, permitting one run and two hits, while striking out eight and walking two.
ROYALS CHANGE GAME TIME
The Royals' game on Sept. 12 against the White Sox has been changed from a 7:15 p.m CDT start to 12:15 p.m. This is to accommodate a U2 concert, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium, which is across the parking lot from Kauffman Stadium.
ASTROS PROMOTE MARTES
RHP Francis Martes was scratched from his Wednesday Triple-A Fresno start and told to join the Astros Thursday in Kansas City. This is Martes' first time on a big league roster. Martes, the No. 1 ranked prospect in the organization, was 0-2 with a 5.29 ERA with Fresno.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: RHP Joe Musgrove (shoulder discomfort) threw a bullpen Thursday and could come off the DL and start Monday against Texas. "The way my body felt was very good, no aches, no pains, nothing," Musgrove said. "I felt like I was able to move freely. On top of that, I felt like I had very good command. I felt sharp. I felt like I picked up where I left off."
Royals: All-Star C Salvador Perez (sprained left thumb) was not in the lineup getting injured in the eighth inning Wednesday. Manager Ned Yost said Perez was available and would start Friday at San Diego.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Brad Peacock, who has struck out at least eight in his past three outings, will start the opener of a home series against the Angels.
Royals: LHP Eric Skoglund will make his third big league start in the first game of a weekend series at San Diego.
