Seth Lugo outclasses Astros in Royals' victory Friday night

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Apr 25, 2025

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Houston Astros were reintroduced to vintage Seth Lugo on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City Royals veteran was masterful across eight innings in the club’s 2-0 victory. The Royals have now won five consecutive games after dropping six straight from April 14-19.

Lugo surrendered three hits in the game. He relied on his four-seam fastball to get ahead of the Astros’ potent lineup. And the fastball set up his secondary pitches.

The Astros didn’t have many scoring chances. And when they did, Lugo worked out of trouble.

In the fourth inning, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes recorded a two-out double. The line drive snapped Lugo’s streak of 11 consecutive batters retired to begin the game.

Parades had two of the three hits against Lugo. At each turn, Lugo avoided further trouble to retire the side in order. He punctuated the seventh frame by striking out left fielder Zach Dezenzo.

Denzenzo recorded three strikeouts. Lugo struck out eight while walking only one batter in the victory.

Houston finished 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position.

Lugo didn’t need much run support. And the Royals gave him just enough to pick up his second win of the season.

The Royals manufactured both runs with sacrifice flies. Kyle Isbel drove home Drew Waters, who had two doubles, in the fifth inning. Hunter Renfroe followed suit as Vinnie Pasquantino scored in the sixth.

Kansas City is now 10-4 at Kauffman Stadium this season and remains perfect on the current six-game homestand. The Royals (13-14) are a game below .500.

Here are more notables aspects of Friday’s game:

Jonathan India reaches career milestone

It was a special night for Royals infielder Jonathan India. In the fifth inning, India recorded his 500th career hit against Astros starter Hayden Wesneski. India lined a single in the frame. The baseball was thrown out of play and kept in the Royals dugout.

India has hit a cold spell atop the Royals lineup. He entered Friday’s game hitting .200 with four RBIs. Nevertheless, the milestone hit was a step in the right direction.

Bobby Witt Jr. extends hitting streak

Bobby Witt Jr. continues to scorch the baseball. He recorded his first three-hit game of the 2025 season against the Astros.

And he extended his hitting streak to a new career-best 17 games.

The Royals’ offense recorded nine hits in the victory. They have scored 18 runs on the homestand.

What’s next

The Royals continue their three-game series against the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (0-3, 4.15 ERA) draws the start on Saturday against Astros ace Framber Valdez (1-2, 4.50 ERA).

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