HOUSTON (AP) - Rookie Yordano Ventura threw seven solid innings for first major league win to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Omar Infante homered and drove in two runs for the Royals.
Ventura (1-0), an elite prospect with a 100 mph fastball, allowed four hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts in seven innings - both career highs - in his fifth major league start.
Infante had a solo shot in the first inning off Lucas Harrell (0-3) and added an RBI in the third inning as the Royals found some offense after managing just five runs combined as they were swept in a weekend series at Minnesota.
Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler had an RBI each for Kansas City and Lorenzo Cain had a pair of hits for his fourth multi-hit game this season.
Carlos Corporan homered in the fifth inning for the Astros, who have scored two runs or fewer in three of their past four games.
Harrell gave up five hits and four runs in five innings and has allowed 14 runs in three starts combined this season.
Ventura had retired 12 of the last 13 batters when Corporan launched his homer into the first row of the seats in right field with one out in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 4-2.
He got back on track after that and didn't allow another hit until Matt Dominguez singled to start the seventh inning. He walked Jonathan Villar with two outs, but ended the threat and his night when he retired Dexter Fowler after a short coaching visit to the mound. Wade Davis pitched a perfect eighth before Greg Holland struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.
Infante put Kansas City up early with his solo homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field with one out in the first inning.
Fowler hit a leadoff double and reached third on a one-out single by Jason Castro. Fowler scored on an error by Ventura with two outs on a pickoff attempt to first base to tie it at 1-1.
Infante grounded into a forceout that scored Cain, who had led off the inning with a single, to make it 2-1 in the third inning. Hosmer followed with an RBI double to push the lead to 3-1.
A single by Nori Aoki followed by a pair of walks loaded the bases for Kansas City with one out in the fifth, and Butler's sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 4-1.
NOTES: The series continues on Wednesday when Kansas City's Jeremy Guthrie opposes left-hander Dallas Keuchel. ... Houston manager Bo Porter wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, but said he was much better than he was a day before when he spent the day in bed fighting off what he called a bug. ... The Astros celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Tuesday with a pregame reception where children from the Astros Urban Youth Academy had a chance to meet Houston players including Fowler, L.J. Hoes, Jerome Williams and Chris Carter.