Seth Lugo surrenders four home runs in Royals' 6-2 loss to Astros

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Sep 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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HOUSTON — The Kansas City Royals entered Thursday’s action with nothing to lose. Despite Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros, the Royals were officially eliminated from postseason contention.

And with 10 games remaining, the Royals had a chance to spoil the playoff hopes of a few teams on their schedule.

The Astros are in a heated race with the Texas Rangers for the American League West divisional crown. Both teams were tied ahead of their respective games on Thursday.

Houston needed to win. Meanwhile, the Royals looked to win the series finale and build momentum heading into the offseason.

It was two teams on different paths. And the Astros powered their way to a 6-2 victory at Daikin Park behind their top sluggers.

Jeremy Peña continued to terrorize the Royals. He hit a leadoff home run off Royals starter Seth Lugo to erase an early deficit. And later, Daulton Varsho belted a solo homer to give the Astros a 2-1 lead in the second.

Lugo surrendered four solo homers on the night. In the fifth inning, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Yordan Alvarez tagged Lugo with the long ball. Alvarez — who is a top AL MVP candidate — reached 40 homers on the season.

The Astros chased Lugo after five innings. He allowed eight hits while striking out five batters.

Lugo has now surrendered 23 home runs this season. However in his previous 11 starts, he had allowed four home runs across 59 1/3 innings. The Astros made Lugo pay for a few mistakes as they improved to 77-76 on the season.

And Lugo’s struggles continued in Daikin Park where he has allowed 15 earned runs 17 1/3 career innings.

Meanwhile, the Royals couldn’t get much going offensively. Houston tossed a bullpen game and surrendered two runs and three hits on the night.

In the first inning, KC was patient against Astros opener Miguel Ullola while registering three baserunners. However, Maikel Garcia halted the scoring chance by grounding into a double play.

The Royals got one run in the frame. But they didn’t record a hit again until the sixth inning when rookie catcher Carter Jensen got aboard with a single. Jensen finished 2 for 3 in the game.

Jensen also recorded his 75th RBI of the season. And prior to Thursday’s game, he ranked first among all rookies in extra-base hits and doubles.

The Royals dropped to 67-86. The club has lost four of six games on their current nine-game road trip.

Houston set a season high with five homers overall in the victory. And bulk reliever Ethan Pecko allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings of relief.

What’s next?

Royals right-hander Randy Dobnak (3-4, 2.73 ERA) will start on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. He will oppose former NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.78 ERA) with first pitch set for 5:40 p.m. Central.