HOUSTON (Interstat) — Daniel Lynch IV pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, at Daikin Park. Lynch allowed two hits and struck out three. Cristian Javier took the loss after giving up two earned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings with two strikeouts. John Rave homered and drove in two runs, and Michael Massey went 3 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Carter Jensen doubled in two runs in the eighth, and Yainer Diaz homered for Houston. Isaac Paredes added a sacrifice fly. Kansas City and Houston each finished with eight hits. Kansas City improved to 67-85, while Houston fell to 76-76. The game drew 28,497 fans and took 2 hours, 48 minutes. Craig Kimbrel and Anthony Gose contributed scoreless relief for Kansas City, and Tatsuya Imai pitched a scoreless inning for Houston. The teams meet again Thursday.