Garcia (7 IP) dealt short end of pitchers' duel

KANSAS CITY -- Sometimes, the win-loss column is more about when you pitch than how you pitch. Astros right-hander Luis Garcia met the definition of a tough-luck loss on Saturday afternoon when he allowed just two runs over a season-high-tying seven innings, but wound up taking the defeat as the Royals piled on late and prevailed, 6-0, at Kauffman Stadium.

Had Garcia been on the mound Friday, when Houston pummeled Kansas City pitching for 10 runs and three homers, he would have had ample margin for error. But the Astros’ offense was stuck in neutral Saturday and thus, Garcia’s fine outing was wasted.

Garcia needed just 91 pitches to get through his seven innings. The only other outing when he recorded 21 outs this year came on May 6 against Detroit.

“He was good, very good,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Garcia. “He’s really learning. You certainly would have wanted to win for him and for us.”

Garcia was locked in a scoreless battle with Royals starter Kris Bubic until the sixth inning, when one missed location against Salvador Perez cost him in a big way. With a runner at first and two outs, Garcia worked a 1-2 count against Perez, who was mired in an 0-for-21 slump when he came to the plate.

But then Perez provided a flashback to his 48-homer 2021 season with a towering two-run homer to left field.

It was the only blemish on Garcia’s day, but the Astros had no answers offensively, and Kansas City tacked on four insurance runs against the Houston bullpen in the eighth.

“It was two runs, that’s it,” Garcia said. “I think it was a good game, personally. But those homers happen.”

The Astros managed to run up Bubic’s pitch count, but they couldn’t deliver the big hit. Bubic needed 98 pitches to get through five innings, but the Astros left 10 on base and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros felt like they could have given Garcia the lead in the third when they loaded the bases with two outs. Yuli Gurriel hit a grounder to the left of rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who made a sprawling stop before fumbling the ball as he tried for the forceout at second. The Astros challenged the out call, but the call was upheld, thus costing Houston what would have been a 1-0 lead.

“We thought that was going to be overturned, because it looked like [Yordan Alvarez] was safe at second base,” Baker said. “That was a big one right there. Who knows how many we could have gotten out of that inning?”

The game began after a rain delay, and Garcia said the wet conditions in the early innings affected his grip on the baseball. But he battled through unscathed with the help of some early soft contact.

In his only other seven-inning outing this year, Garcia also threw 91 pitches.

Garcia allowed just four hits on Saturday, but it was the Whit Merrifield single and the Perez homer in the sixth that swung the pitchers' duel in Kansas City’s direction.

Still, the Astros, 34-19, have a chance to close out the three-city road trip and arrive at the one-third marker of their season (54 games) on pace to win 105 games if they can close out the series finale with a victory.

“We just have to start a new streak [Sunday],” Baker said.