KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Salvador Perez broke his bat on a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning, but that hit also broke a tie and gave the Kansas City Royals just enough of a cushion to secure a series-opening win on Monday night.
The Royals pieced together an eighth-inning rally with the top three hitters in their order — Whit Merrifield, Nicky Lopez and Perez — doing the late legwork to lift the club to a 7-6 win over the AL West Division-leading Houston Astros in front of an announced 10,228 at Kauffman Stadium.
Merrifield went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Lopez had a hit, a walk and three stolen bases. Ryan O’Hearn doubled and drove in two runs, while Carlos Santana went 2 for 4 with a double.
