KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Stephen Kolek scattered five hits while pitching into the eighth inning, Maikel Garcia had three hits and three RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 4-0 in their series finale Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak.
Kolek (4-1) struck out four and walked one. He’s allowed just seven earned runs total over his past six starts.
Bobby Witt Jr. celebrated his 26th birthday with two singles, two stolen bases and two tidy plays in the field. First, he snagged a liner to rob the Astros’ Joey Loperfido of a base hit, then Witt casually gloved his sharp grounder to start an inning-ending double play.
Garcia also had one of Kansas City’s four stolen bases off Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti (7-2), the reigning AL pitcher of the month, who matched a season high by allowing four runs and eight hits and a walk over six innings.
Arrighetti’s only other loss this season came on May 9 in Cincinnati, when he allowed a single earned run.
The Royals jumped on him right away Sunday with singles by Witt and Garcia in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. But the big blow came during a three-run third, when Garcia followed Jac Caglianone’s RBI single with a two-run double down the left-field line.
None of the Astros’ hits off Kolek amounted to anything. Two runners were wiped out by double plays, Cam Smith was picked off first base, Yordan Alvarez was left stranded in the seventh after extending his on-base streak to 21 games, and Steven Cruz helped Kolek by getting the final two outs of the eighth inning to preserve the shutout.
Up next
RHP Kai-Wei Teng (3-5, 3.71 ERA) starts for Houston on Monday night against the Tigers, while RHP Hunter Brown will start Tuesday for the first time since March 31, when the Astros’ staff ace went down with a Grade 2 shoulder strain.
The Royals have yet to announce a starter for their series opener against the Nationals on Monday night in Washington.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
