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A.J. Hinch wiped the sweat from his brow after watching his Astros win their 10th straight game on Saturday Authentic Rasmus Dahlin Jersey , joking that he might get tossed early the next time out to avoid the Kansas City heat.

The skipper hasn’t been sweating many outcomes lately.

Houston’s latest solid start came from Dallas Keuchel, who allowed the Royals two unearned runs over six sharp innings. Its latest offense came from Max Stassi and Alex Bregman, who belted three-run homers at spacious Kauffman Stadium. And its latest win was a 10-2 rout as the heat index eclipsed 100 degrees.

”I’m really happy with how consistently the guys are showing up expecting to win, and then going out and doing it,” Hinch said. ”We’re a hard team to beat right now.”

No matter the situation. No matter the conditions.

”Winning streak, no winning streak, it doesn’t matter. We just play our game,” said Bregman, who survived the blazing sun and oppressive heat, which sent Stassi and Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel to the clubhouse with symptoms of dehydration.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the first to send the World Series champions on their way. The Astros have won the first nine games on their 10-game road swing, already making it the best trip in club history with the series finale still to come on Sunday.

Coincidentally, the Astros had an 11-game win streak end in Kansas City last season.

Keuchel (4-8) has begun to emerge from a monthlong funk, allowing two unearned runs and six hits in six innings. The 2015 Cy Young winner had surrendered a combined 17 runs over his last three outings, and had not won since tossing seven scoreless innings against Texas on May 13.

Meanwhile, the Royals have lost five straight and are 2-12 since the calendar flipped to June.

”We’ve been around this clubhouse for a while to the point that we’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs,” Royals pitcher Danny Duffy said. ”We know what we need to do to come out of them, it’s just about doing exactly that. It’s not ideal where we’re at right now. It’s pretty much the opposite of what we drew up coming into the year. We got to come out of this stretch ourselves.”

Duffy (3-7) had been pitching well of late, going seven shutout innings his last time out. But the Royals left-hander allowed seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just six innings, becoming the most recent starting pitcher to have a rough time with the Astros’ potent lineup.

”We’ve played some good baseball. Obviously the teams we’ve been playing have played better than we have Andrei Svechnikov Jersey ,” he said.

Duffy was in trouble right from the start. George Springer opened the game with a walk, Bregman added a single and Altuve ripped a double to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

The Astros tacked on two more runs in the fifth, getting some help from third baseman Mike Moustakas, who flubbed an easy grounder that led to an unearned run. And after Kansas City matched the tally in the bottom half, the Astros’ big bats put the game out of reach.

Stassi began by swatting Duffy’s 1-0 pitch to left field for a 7-2 lead, and Bregman added his homer in the ninth inning to extend his career-best on-base streak to 27 consecutive games.

The only consolation for the Royals was that they weren’t grand slams. They pitching staff had served up one of them each of the past two games, including Evan Gattis‘ in the series opener.

”This is a tough club,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”You make a mistake and they make you pay.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Royals C Drew Butera snapped a 0-for-16 skid with a single in the third inning. LF Alex Gordon ended a 0-for-13 slump with a single in the sixth. … Houston is now a season-high 22 games over .500.

SO LONG, SOLER

Royals OF Jorge Soler will miss at least six weeks after breaking a bone in his left foot during the series opener. Soler will head to the DL but with Triple-A Omaha on the West Coast, a corresponding roster move will not be made until Sunday. Soler was hitting .265 with nine homers and 28 RBIs.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 1B Lucas Duda will begin a rehab assignment with Omaha on Sunday, Yost said. Duda has been out since May 14 with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

UP NEXT

The Royals send RHP Brad Keller (1-2, 2.31 ERA) to the mound in the hopes of avoiding a sweep. The Astros counter with RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3, 3.83 ERA) as they try to keep their streak going.

—


To say Kole Calhoun was struggling would be an understatement.

When the Los Angeles Angels‘ right fielder was placed on the disabled list June 2 with a strained right oblique, he was in a 12-for-122 slump (.098), dropping his season average to .145.

“Every day is a new day,” Calhoun told the Orange County Register last week. “You’ve still got to go out and perform. I’m not thinking about it much honestly. I just want to go out and have a good game. Just going out and trying to help the team win.”

He did that Wednesday, going 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Angels snapped the host Seattle Mariners‘ eight-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory. The teams wrap up their three-game series Thursday night at Safeco Field.

Calhoun has hit two home runs in his past three games after hitting just three in his previous 62. Since returning from the DL on June 18, he’s batting .306 (15-for-49) with three doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored.

That’s helped Calhoun raise his batting average to .180.

He even returned to the leadoff spot in the batting order last week in Baltimore Authentic Adam Boqvist Jersey , a spot he held in previous seasons.

“Kole has made some adjustments and hopefully it will pay off,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told The Register.

Scioscia said one key for Calhoun is he’s been more selective at the plate as of late.

“He’s had a good eye in previous years,” Scioscia said. “It’s been a part of his game, but it’s been elusive this year.”

The Angels will send rookie right-hander Jaime Barria (5-4, 3.40 ERA) to the mound Thursday in place of left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a right adductor strain. Barria suffered a 6-3 loss on June 12 at Seattle, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits in five innings.

The Mariners are scheduled to start left-hander Marco Gonzales (8-5, 3.77 ERA). Gonzales is 0-0 with a 4.66 ERA in four career starts against the Angels, including two earlier this season.

Gonzales is coming off his first career complete game in a 4-1 victory against Kansas City. Gonzales lost the shutout bid on Mike Moustakas’ two-strike, two-out single in the ninth inning.

“It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work this year and having the right guys behind me,” Gonzales said after his last start. “Those guys played incredible defense behind me and when your team gives you a lead in the first half of the game, you inch closer to eyeing the end. From the first inning I just had the mentality that this is my game and I’m going to go as deep as I can.”

Gonzales has been a big part of Seattle’s success this season after earning the No. 5 spot in the rotation this spring.

“He’s matured, there’s no question,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Gonzales. “It always works better when guys earn it. He has a lot of confidence right now because everything that’s happened this year, he’s earned. From coming into spring training, winning a spot in our rotation, he continues to build throughout the season.”