Riley Greene sits against left-hander on Sunday

Alvarez clobbered the fourth of five Astros’ solo home runs in the contest, with his 385-foot (107.2-mph EV) blast coming off of Seth Lugo in the fifth inning. It’s the first time in his career that he has eclipsed the 40-homer plateau, becoming just the eighth player in Astros’ franchise history to do so. With his 2-for-4 night, the 29-year-old superstar is now slashing a robust .311/.429/.598 with 40 homers and 99 RBI on the season.

Peña wasted no time getting his squad on the board in this one, launching Seth Lugo’s very first pitch for a 394-foot (103.9-mph EV) solo shot that tied the game at 1-1. He also added on with an RBI single in the sixth inning. The 28-year-old is having a terrific season at the dish, slashing .279/.330/.478 with 20 homers, 51 RBI and nine stolen bases in only 442 plate appearances.

Trammell drew a one-out walk in the sixth inning and raced around to score on a two-out single off the bat of Jeremy Peña. He then slugged a 359-foot (106.4-mph EV) solo shot off of Alex Lange in the eighth that extended the Astros’ lead to 6-2. Overall on the season, he’s now hitting .206/.295/.366 with eight homers and 22 RBI in 269 plate appearances.

Pecko struck out four batters on the night and did not allow a free pass. He took over in the third inning following a pair of openers and kept the Royals off the board until an RBI single by Carter Jensen in the eighth — the final batter that he faced. The 24-year-old righty got eight swings and misses on 71 offerings on the night, registering a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry a solid 3.77 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 19/12 K/BB ratio (28 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Mariners in Seattle.

Jensen drew a walk to open the game and came around to score the first run as Maikel Garcia bounced into a double play. His single in the sixth inning was their first hit in the contest. He also delivered a run-scoring single in the eighth inning that pulled the Royals to within three runs at 5-2. With the two-hit attack, the 23-year-old backstop is now hitting .235/.322/.454 with 24 homers, 75 RBI and two stolen bases across 571 plate appearances.

Lugo punched out five opposing hitters on the night while issuing one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Jeremy Peña, Daulton Varsho, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Yordan Alvarez each tagging him for solo home runs in the ballgame. The 36-year-old hurler got 11 swings and misses on 76 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll carry a disappointing 5.06 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 131/54 K/BB ratio (169 innings) into his final start of the season on Wednesday against the White Sox.

Young appeared to take a knee to the head from McLean and was knocked unconscious on the field. He eventually regained consciousness and was able to give a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carried off the field. Presumably, he’ll head to the hospital for further evaluation. Expect the Mets to provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Pereira has been shelved since August 22 due to a left hand contusion. He’s only expected to need a couple of live at-bats there before he’s cleared to rejoin the Cardinals — which should happen at some point over the weekend. The 25-year-old has hit just .235/.309/.439 with five homers and 12 RBI in 111 plate appearances between the White Sox and Cardinals this season.

The 28-year-old hurler has blossomed into the Nationals’ ace this season, going 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 194/48 K/BB ratio across 164 2/3 innings. Cavalli is currently in the first of four arbitration years as a Super Two player, so it seems likely that the extension would cover all arbitration years and the first year or two of free agency as well.

With Kyle Finnegan (groin) landing on the injured list on Thursday, Madden will get another chance to prove his worth at the MLB level over the final 10 games of the regular season. He holds a 3.46 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over 39 innings with the Tigers this season.