KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals rebounded at home over the past week. A disappointing road trip, on which Kansas City went 2-8, had left them with a bruised ego and a lot of questions.

Kansas City’s offense was a non-factor and the Royals’ pitching staff was working overtime to compensate. Entering Sunday’s series and homestand finale against the Houston Astros, the Royals’ starting pitchers had a collective 3.22 ERA — fourth best in the majors.

“We played good teams and we got beat up a little bit,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We were in competitive games.”

The Royals returned to Kauffman Stadium with a new mentality and a plan that team captain Salvador Perez summarized as “stop doing too much.”

A blend of home cooking with some Kansas City pride sprinkled in helped the Royals rediscover their mojo. A near-perfect homestand followed. They swept the Colorado Rockies and then won a series against the Houston Astros.

“It was a good week,” Quatraro said. “If you come home and you go 5-1 in a homestand, that’s pretty solid, right? Coming back off the road trip, it was definitely needed. So overall, it was a pretty solid week.”

The Royals’ offense is still scuffling, but the rotation has taken its performance to another level. Royals starters Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha both shut out the Astros by following nearly identical game-plans.

They got ahead with their fastball and mixed in off-speed pitches aggressively.

“The pitchers did amazing this week for us,” Kansas City infielder Jonathan India said. “Offense had some timely hitting and we are all still building. Yeah, today was a tough one but it’s baseball. They got us today.”

And the Royals got timely hits, at least until Sunday arrived. Drew Waters continues to rake and Vinnie Pasquantino was the hero in Saturday’s game. He homered off Astros ace Framber Valdez as he continued to work through a cold spell.

Lo and behold, the Royals won five of six games at home and have won six of their last seven overall. They improved to 11-5 at Kauffman Stadium this season.

“We just got to keep going,” India said. “That’s the bottom line. Just keep putting good at-bats together, stick together and have each other’s backs.”

Here are some key takeaways from the Astros series and homestand finale:

Sunday spotlight

The Royals (14-15) ran into the hottest pitcher in the league on Sunday. Astros starter Hunter Brown entered with a 24-inning scoreless streak and his success continued against the Royals.

The Royals registered 11 hits, but Brown dissected the Kansas City lineup. The Royals finally broke through in the sixth inning, when Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI double to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.

“He had his fastball working today,” India said. “He had two fastballs, a good rising fastball and a good sinker. And, you know, he just hit his spots.”

Brown-led Houston overcame that run. He finished with nine strikeouts and picked up his fourth victory of the 2025 campaign.

The Astros (14-13) won 7-3 Sunday to avoid a series sweep. Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez was a thorn in the side of Royals starter Kris Bubic, with two hits, including a three-run homer.

“Alvarez, regardless of what his numbers are, he is one of the best hitters in the game,” Bubic said. “As you saw, he got me pretty good twice.”

Bubic left a 91.6 mph sinker over the plate and Alvarez didn’t miss it. He belted the baseball 436 feet over the center-field wall.

Bubic allowed four runs and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings Sunday. Alvarez, meanwhile, now has a .365 career batting average in 18 games at Kauffman Stadium.

The Astros tacked on three runs against the Royals’ bullpen. Waters hit a ninth-inning triple against Astros reliever Tayler Scott.

Salvy finds groove

Perez is beginning to heat up after a slow start.

He drove the baseball to all fields against the Rockies and Astros. His bat was thunderous.

Perez played both games of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Rockies. He finished 5 for 8 with four doubles, four RBIs, three runs and one walk.

Quatraro likes what he’s seen lately — not only from Perez, but also a few others in the Royals’ lineup.

“There are guys making strides,” Quatraro said. “Salvy had a good homestand swinging the bat and Vinnie (Pasquantino) is showing some good signs. (Michael) Massey a couple more hits and (Jonathan) India had a good day at the plate.

“There are definitely signs of individuals turning the corner. We just have to sustain them and group the hits together.”

As for Perez, he surpassed Hal McRae with his 240th multi-career RBI game and moved into second place on the club’s all-time list for that stat. He now trails only Hall of Famer George Brett, who drove in multiple RBIs 365 times.

Perez has hit safely in 11 of his last 16 games.

Royals on the mend

The Royals have fared well without key relievers in the bullpen. The club is still missing right-handed pitchers Hunter Harvey (RHP) and Sam Long (LHP).

Both players are progressing well. Harvey is on the 15-day injured list with a right teres major strain but was observed playing catch during pre-game workouts. He could be close to throwing off a mound.

Long is feeling better after dealing with left-elbow inflammation. The Royals plan to monitor his progress as his recovery continues.

Starting pitcher Cole Ragans is nursing a left-groin strain. He is considered day-to-day and the Royals will determine whether he can make his next start, which is tentatively set for Wednesday in Tampa Bay against the Rays.

Outfielder Dairon Blanco continues to test his right Achilles in various drills. He also could be ready for a rehab assignment this week.

Lastly, Royals starter Kyle Wright threw 55-57 pitches in four innings at the club’s spring training complex in Surprise, Ariz.

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