HOUSTON — Kris Medlen turned early run support and his own resilient performance into a successful season debut, pitching the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
Medlen (1-0) made a 3-0 first-inning lead stick by stranding five base runners over five innings. He was effective enough to deliver a lead to the Royals’ vaunted bullpen, which followed with four scoreless innings.
Right-hander Wade Davis labored through the ninth inning yet notched his third save as the Royals (5-2) squared this four-game series. Davis walked a pair of batters and ran the count full on Jose Altuve before inducing a fly ball to right field for the second out. He got a called third strike on George Springer to strand the tying run at second base.
Right-handers Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria worked the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, with Soria allowing a single and a walk.
Center fielder Lorenzo Cain smacked his second home run of the season in the first inning off Astros right-hander Mike Fiers (0-1) to provide the Royals all the offense they would need.
The Astros (3-5) left nine runners on base and finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Given his ominous start, it appeared unlikely Fiers would last as long as he did.
Fiers surrendered three hard-hit balls to the first three batters he faced, with Cain following sharp singles by Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas with a three-run homer to left field on a 3-2 Fiers pitch.
Fiers recovered to strike out Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon to close the first and discovered a modest groove soon thereafter. He did not allow more than one baserunner in any of his remaining five innings and set the Royals down in order in the top of the third.
Fiers benefited from a nifty double play started by first baseman Tyler White after Eric Hosmer reached to open the sixth. After inducing a Gordon groundout to close the inning, Fiers capped his night having allowed three runs, six hits and one walk with three strikeouts on 101 pitches.
Like Fiers, Medlen had a shaky start only to recover and depart with a lead.
Medlen faced seven batters in the first, allowing an RBI double to Colby Rasmus and a run-scoring single to White that cut the lead to 3-2. But Medlen limited the damage by coaxing Carlos Correa to ground into a double play.
In the third, Medlen picked off George Springer after his single and induced Rasmus to hit into an inning-ending double play, facing the minimum despite allowing two singles.
When Medlen gave way to Luke Hochevar in the sixth, he departed having allowed two runs, six hits and four walks. His seventh strikeout closed the fifth, with Rasmus whiffing with two runners on.
NOTES: Astros DH Evan Gattis returned from a season-opening stint on the 15-day disabled list (hernia) and batted seventh. Despite the Royals starting RHP Kris Medlen, the right-handed-hitting Gattis was in the lineup instead of lefty-hitting Preston Tucker, who is batting .333/.412/.933 in six games. … Royals OF Jarrod Dyson, out since the first spring training game, had a scheduled day off on Monday as he continues his injury rehab stint with Triple-A Omaha. Dyson, sidelined by a right oblique strain, returned to the Storm Chasers’ lineup in right field on Tuesday. … After Astros RHP Lance McCullers made the first start of his rehab assignment on Monday night with Double-A Corpus Christi, he was in Houston on Tuesday completing a bullpen session under the watch of the Astros’ staff. He will make a second rehab start on Saturday with the Hooks.