(AP) Jason Vargas tossed five solid innings for his eighth victory, Cheslor Cuthbert drove in three runs and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Astros 7-5 on Wednesday night after Houston ace Dallas Keuchel was a late scratch with an illness.
That cancelled the anticipated pitching duel between Vargas and Keuchel, who have the two best ERAs in the majors. A few minutes before the game was to start, Astros manager A.J. Hinch told Royals manager Ned Yost that Keuchel would not be starting.
Hinch said Keuchel had been “sick for the last couple of days.”
“He didn’t feel great coming in,” Hinch said. “As he started his throwing program in the bullpen, a couple of things happened. One, he didn’t feel great. Two, he didn’t look great to the coaches, so we scratched him. We found out as guys were finishing up their warmups.
Instead, the Astros started right-hander Dayan Diaz, who was just called up from Triple-A Fresno. Diaz (0-1) gave up three runs and four hits, including Lorenzo Cain’s solo homer, in 2 2/3 innings.
Vargas (8-3), who pitched a shutout against Cleveland in his previous start, allowed two runs on Brian McCann’s home run and RBI single. He gave up six hits, a walk and hit a batter. Vargas’ ERA inched up from 2.08 to 2.18 in the win, the Royals’ second straight over the Astros.
Cuthbert had an RBI double in the second and a two-run single in the fifth. Alcides Escobar had a pair of RBI singles.
McCann’s homer came in the second inning, and his fourth-inning single scored Carlos Beltran, who had doubled. It was Beltran’s 549th career double, moving him one past Alex Rodriguez and into a tie with Chipper Jones for 29th place on baseball’s career list.
The Astros scored three runs in eighth to cut the Royals’ lead to two when Jake Marisnick singled in a run and Escobar’s fielding miscue with the bases loaded allowed two more runs to score.
Kelvin Herrera worked the ninth for his 13th save in 15 opportunities, striking out three and allowing a single to McCann, his fourth hit.
