HOUSTON -AP- Dallas Keuchel picked up right where he left off on Saturday night in his return from a short stint on the disabled list.
Keuchel (8-0), who missed one start with a pinched nerve in his neck, allowed four hits and one run while fanning eight in six innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
"It was pretty flawless," manager A.J. Hinch said. "We couldn't have asked for much more. He was extremely sharp with getting outs."
 
 
Keuchel solid in return from DL as Astros down Orioles 5-2
 
 
His eight wins this season lead the majors and he's just one win away from matching his total from last year, when he struggled in the follow-up to his stellar 2015 season during which he won 20 games and the American League Cy Young Award.
"I felt good," he said. "So hopefully take the next step and continue to progress and get back to hopefully seven or eight innings."
Will Harris struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.
Houston led by 1 in the fourth before George Springer hit a two-run homer off Wade Miley (1-3) to make it 4-1.
Welington Castillo had an RBI single for the Orioles, whose season-high skid reached six games.
"There's just too much talent to struggle for too much longer," right fielder Mark Trumbo said. "It could be tomorrow, it could be the next series, but we're going to start to do better."
Jose Altuve had three hits and an RBI and Carlos Correa added two hits and drove in a run for the Astros, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Miley tied season highs by allowing eight hits and four runs in five innings to remain winless since April 14.
Springer put Houston up 1-0 in the first when he made a diving slide to evade the tag at home and score on a double by Altuve. Correa followed with a single to send Altuve home and push the lead to 2-0.
The Orioles got going in the third inning when Caleb Joseph walked with two outs. Joey Rickard singled before Joseph scored on a single by Castillo to cut the lead to 2-1.
Alex Bregman singled with one out in the fourth before Springer hit his 10th home run on a towering 447-foot shot to center field with two outs to extend Houston's lead to 4-1.
 

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