George Springer does it all in 9-2 win over Royals

In what was billed as a showcase of two talented youngsters, Houston’s George Springer and Kansas City’s Yordano Ventura, the Astros rookie stole the show.

Springer went 4 for 4 with a walk. He scored five runs and drove in three. He also made a nice running catch. Springer’s eighth inning homerun was his team-leading eighth of the year — and fifth in his last four games.

Astros manager Bo Porter explained Springer’s recent success to MLB.com’s Jackson Alexander.

"He got out to a slow start, and the game was kind of fast and he kind of pumped the brakes, and now, once he slowed the game down, you’re starting to see his natural talent pretty much just take over."

On the other side of the diamond, things did not go well for Yordano Ventura. The Astros scored five runs in the first two innings as the rookie struggled with his command. Ventura was forced from the game in the third with pain in his throwing elbow. Let’s hope it isn’t serious.

In addition to Springer, Marwin Gonzalez also collected four hits in the game and Alex Presley had three. Robbie Grossman took an 0 for 5 in his return to the majors.

On the mound, Scott Feldman went six innings and picked up the win. Tony Sipp, Josh Fields, and Jerome Williams each tossed one scoreless inning in relief.