Yordan Alvarez hits 40th homer as Astros power past Royals 6-2

Yordan Alvarez reached 40 home runs, and Houston needed every bit of the long-ball power. The Astros hit five homers in a 6-2 win over Kansas City on Thursday, moving back over .500 and keeping at least a share of the American League West lead.

The scoreline tells the simple part of the story; the more useful question is whether Houston can turn power into a stable September formula. The Astros finished with 11 hits, scored in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings and kept Kansas City from building on its two-run answer.

Alvarez's 40th gives Houston a middle-of-the-order marker while the division race remains tight. The win moved the Astros to 77-76, and the club now faces the rest of the Royals series with the margin for empty at-bats shrinking.

For fans, the argument is straightforward: a five-homer night is fun, but the Astros need the same pressure in ordinary games, when the opponent does not hand them a festival of mistakes.