Collin McHugh held light-hitting Kansas City at bay over seven innings, and Matt Dominquez drove in the only run the Houston Astros needed in a 3-0 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night.
Houston tacked on two more runs off reliever Tim Collins in the eighth, and Tony Sipp and Chad Qualls breezed through the final two innings without allowing a hit to complete the shutout.
McHugh (3-3) scattered five hits while striking out nine without issuing a walk to earn his first win in five starts. He stranded a runner at third base in the second inning and runners at second and third in the fifth, but otherwise cruised through the Kansas City lineup.
The only run Jeremy Guthrie (2-4) allowed came when Dominquez followed up a pair of one-out walks to Dexter Fowler and Jason Castro with a single in the fourth inning.
