Collin McHugh and the Houston Astros on Thursday beat the Kansas City Royals at their own game, relying on sharp pitching and stingy defense for a 5-2 victory in the opener of their American League Division Series.
McHugh (1-0) allowed four hits, including a pair of solo homers by Kendrys Morales, while pitching around a 49-minute rain delay. The right-hander lasted six innings before turning the game over to his bullpen, who scattered three runners over the final three frames.
Tony Sipp, Will Harris and Oliver Perez got the game to Luke Gregerson, who handled the ninth to earn a save.
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George Springer and Colby Rasmus went deep for the homer-happy Astros, but they also scored via the same sort of small ball the Royals used in reaching the World Series last season.
Yordano Ventura (0-1) yielded three runs on four hits and a walk in two innings for Kansas City, but did not come back following the rain delay. Chris Young served up Springer’s home run with one out in the fifth, but tossed four otherwise solid innings of relief.
“That’s a young, athletic team and they played really, really good defense,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said.
The Astros wasted no time getting Ventura in trouble, loading the bases with nobody out in the first inning. The hard-throwing ace settled down to retire the next three batters, but Rasmus and Evan Gattis provided RBI groundouts to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
Jose Altuve tacked on another run in the second with a single to right.
The Royals answered in the bottom half, just as rain started to fall, when Morales ripped McHugh’s fastball down the right-field line.
After the rain delay, Morales got the better of McHugh again in the fourth, driving a pitch over the wall in right.
In the league’s other division series, Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run homer against David Price, while Rougned Odor had a solo shot as the Texas Rangers beat the Blue Jays 5-3 in the first post-season baseball game in Toronto in 22 years.
Yovani Gallardo (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, improving to 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays.
“That’s what we really needed from him,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “I think he did a great job.”
Price (0-1) allowed five runs and five hits in seven innings. He dropped to 1-6 with a 4.79 ERA in 11 post-season games, including six starts.
Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista hit a solo homer in the sixth, then left with a sore right hamstring after popping out in the eighth.
Both starting third baseman also left with injuries: Texas’ Adrian Beltre in the third with a sore lower back and Toronto’s Josh Donaldson in the fifth after he was kneed in the head while sliding in an attempt to break up a double play.
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