Brooms aren’t typically on the list of things to bring when traveling, but the Kansas City Royals may well bring a few on their next road trip.
Bobby Witt Jr. had four hits — two of them home runs — and the Royals used a nine-run first inning to defeat the Houston Astros 13-3 Thursday at Kauffman Stadium and extend their win streak to seven games.
“We’re just truly taking it day by day,” said Witt, who also had five RBIs and scored four runs. “We’re sticking to our preparation, and our preparation is where it needs to be right now. We’ve got to keep going and keep taking it day by day and not really worry about how we’ve won however many games in a row.
“Now we’ve got to move on and get ready for New York. We’ve got to take this step by step and brick by brick.”
Witt started the Royals’ nine-run burst in the first inning with a single and later came around to score. In his second at-bat of the inning he hit a two-run homer.
The Royals sent 15 batters to the plate and tied a club record with 11 hits in the first inning. Houston starter Hunter Brown (0-2) recorded just two outs in the inning and gave up all 11 hits and nine runs.
“What led to it was a lot of really good concentrated at-bats,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s throwing a cutter, and guys were taking it the other way, being patient. And when he threw his curveball, they were on it and didn’t try to do too much with it.
“What does it say about the offense? It’s that they had a really good plan and they stuck with it. You’re always going to need some luck in those situations to string that many hits together in one inning, but regardless they put good at-bats together.”
Vinnie Pasquantino also had two hits in the opening the frame and finished with three hits and three RBIs. After struggling to open the season, Pasquantino seems to be rounding into form. He also homered and had five RBIs on Wednesday.
“We can’t get too high,” Pasquantino said. “This is one of those things where we’ve got to ride the wave as long as we can and stay in good mental spirits and just keep it going.”
UP NEXT
The Royals (9-4) will open a three-game series against the Mets (5-7) on Friday in New York. Right-hander Michael Wacha (1-0, 2.25 ERA) will start against Mets RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 3.60 ERA).
