Alvarez hits 40th home run, Astros defeat Royals 6-2 to maintain at least share of AL West lead

HOUSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez hit his 40th home run, one of five Houston long balls, and the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Thursday night to move back over .500 and maintain at least a share of the AL West lead.

Jeremy Peña hit a first-inning homer for Houston, and Daulton Varsho, Lamonte Wade Jr. and Taylor Trammell also had solo home runs as the Astros hit a season-high five.

Houston (77-76) began the night tied with Texas, which played Boston. The Astros hold the tiebreaker.

Peña reached 20 homers for the first time since his rookie season in 2022, connecting on the first pitch from Seth Lugo for his sixth leadoff home run this season. . Peña added an RBI single in the sixth.

Varsho homered in the second, and Wade and Alvarez in a three-pitch span in the fifth. Alvarez is one home run behind Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero, the AL leader.

Bryan King (3-5) retired four straight batters. Ethan Pecko entered to start the third and allowed one run and three hits over 5 2/3 innings, retiring 15 of his first 16 batters.

Josh Hader pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, finishing a three-hitter and lowering his ERA to 0.83.

Maikel Garcia hit a first-inning, run-scoring double play grounder for the Royals following a pair of walks and a hit batter.

Lugo (7-9) tied his career high by allowing four homers, all solo shots.

Royals: RHP Randy Dobnak (3-4, 2.73 ERA) pitches Friday at Pittsburgh. The Pirates start RHP Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.78), who is 1-3 in his last nine starts,

Astros: RHP Peter Lambert (8-9, 3.71 ERA) seeks his first win since July 11 when he starts Friday against visiting Atlanta and RHP Tyler Mahle (6-10, 3.91).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Houston Astros' Jeremy Peña (3) and Nick Allen (20) celebrate after a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner, left, slides home past New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez on a sac fly hit by Luis Arraez during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez watches his home run against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

UFC 331 arrives Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with a flyweight championship rematch carrying far more intrigue than the official result of the first meeting suggests.

Champion Joshua Van attempts to remove any lingering doubt surrounding his reign, while former titleholder Alexandre Pantoja returns determined to reclaim a championship he never lost in conventional fashion.

Van captured the title at UFC 323 in December when Pantoja suffered a severe arm and elbow injury only 26 seconds into the opening round. The injury occurred after Pantoja caught a kick but landed awkwardly while attempting to brace his fall. Van was awarded a technical knockout, but the abbreviated fight revealed little about how the two compare over a full contest.

That uncertainty creates Saturday’s central question: Can Van defeat Pantoja decisively?

“He’s a very, very dangerous guy,” the 24-year-old said. “He’s going to be motivated, he’s going to be hungrier, and I think this will be the best Pantoja we’ll see.

“This time, you guys will see a different level of Joshua Van. When I beat him, I will be one of the greats in this division.”

Van enters with a 17-2 record and seven consecutive victories. Fighting out of Houston, the Myanmar-born champion has recorded nine knockouts, two submissions and three first-round finishes. His resume includes victories over Brandon Royval, Pantoja and Tatsuro Taira, whom he stopped in the fifth round at UFC 328 during his first successful title defense.

The Taira victory demonstrated that Van could handle an elite challenger across an extended fight. He maintained his pressure, survived difficult moments and secured a late stoppage instead of merely protecting an early advantage.

Now ranked No. 11 on the UFC men’s pound-for-pound list, Van has an opportunity to establish himself as the division’s unquestioned leader by defeating its former standard-bearer under normal circumstances.

Pantoja enters the rematch with a 30-6 record, the No. 1 flyweight ranking and the No. 13 position in the men’s pound-for-pound standings. The Brazilian has eight knockout victories, 12 submissions and 10 first-round finishes, with notable wins over Kai Kara-France, Kai Asakura, Steve Erceg, Brandon Moreno and Royval.

Before suffering the injury, Pantoja had successfully defended the championship four times. His relentless pressure, physical grappling and submission ability made him one of the UFC’s most dependable champions. He now seeks to become the third two-time flyweight champion in UFC history, joining Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo.

“My whole life I’ve just focused on myself,” Pantoja said. “I don’t look at Moreno and Figueiredo; both are very good fighters. ... I fight my whole life to fight the best fighters in the world. Saturday night I have this chance to beat the champion of the world.

“I think it’s a new era for the flyweight division. I think everyone is starting to respect the division.”

The contrast should produce a fascinating tactical battle. Van is the younger, faster combination striker, while Pantoja brings championship experience, suffocating grappling and proven five-round endurance.

Van can transform an unconventional title victory into an authoritative championship statement. Pantoja can complete his recovery, reclaim the throne and remind the division why he remained champion until one awkward landing changed everything.

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

FILE - UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, left, of Brazil, and Joshua Van, originally of Myanmar, face off during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 323 Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Las Vegas (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP,File)