Framber Valdez, Astros aim to slow down surging Royals

Kansas City Royals veteran right-hander Michael Wacha had allowed no more than three earned runs in any of his previous six starts before Monday -- yet had just two victories to show for his efforts.

In a surprising showing relative to previous results, the Royals produced seven early runs of support for Wacha and held on for a 7-5 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series.

Kansas City improved to 17-4 since snapping a six-game losing skid on April 20.

Wacha was 2-4 in eight starts, with the Royals providing two runs or fewer of support in each of those outings. When Wacha took the mound in the bottom of the third inning, he held a seven-run lead and pitched effectively, carrying a shutout into the bottom of the seventh.

The Royals have thrived behind exceptional starting pitching. Run support would go a long way to balancing their potential for long-term success.

"I don't know if it matters who's on the mound," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "We need to consistently swing the bats like that to get some guys some (run) support because the pitchers have done an outstanding job.

"I know we will. The hitters will start to come around like they have this week."

Left-hander Kris Bubic (4-2, 1.69 ERA) has Tuesday's starting assignment for the Royals.

Bubic earned his second consecutive win on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox after tossing seven shutout innings while allowing six hits and one walk with six strikeouts. It marked his fifth start of at least five innings in which he did not allow an earned run, tops in the majors.

Bubic is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Astros. He allowed four runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over five innings in a 7-3 home loss to Houston on April 27.

Left-hander Framber Valdez (2-4, 3.94) is the scheduled starter for the Astros.

Valdez posted his third quality start in his last four appearances Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers after allowing one run on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings in a 9-1 win. He has a 3.12 ERA and .220 opponent batting average during that stretch.

Valdez is 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA over eight career appearances (six starts) against the Royals. He took a 2-0 loss in Kansas City on April 26 after allowing two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts over eight innings.

For the second time in three games, the Astros fell into a sizeable early deficit, and in both games, Houston clawed its way back. The Astros shaved a 10-run deficit against the Cincinnati Reds to 12-8 before on Saturday and clawed to within two runs in the eighth on Monday, forcing the Royals to summon closer Carlos Esteves for the ninth inning.

For a club that has struggled offensively, that battling spirit can be viewed as a positive.

"These two games have woken up our offense a little bit more because there's more urgency because we're behind," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "The quality of at-bats has been tremendous."

--Field Level Media