J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer off James Shields, Jordan Lyles pitched six solid innings and the Houston Astros beat the Royals 3-1 on Wednesday night to take two out of three in this series. Lyles (2-1) allowed one run and six hits. Travis Blackley and Hector Ambriz each pitched an inning of relief, before Jose Veras pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save one night after the bullpen struggled in a 7-3 loss.
Shields (2-5) struck out seven in seven innings while yielding two runs and seven hits. He has gone seven or more innings in each of his last six starts, but hasn’t won since April 30 as the offense has given little support–just five runs combined in his last four starts.
The Royals got their only run in the third when Jeff Francoeur hit a leadoff triple to the hill in center and George Kottaras followed with an RBI double. Alex Gordon walked with two down, but Lyles struck out Billy Butler to end the inning.
