Astros 4, Royals 2

Roy Oswalt pitched seven solid innings and Jason Michaels drove in three runs Wednesday night, leading the Houston Astros past the Kansas City Royals 4-2.

One night after the Royals rapped out 20 hits in a 15-7 victory, Oswalt (5-8) held them to two runs and six hits and struck out seven. The Astros won for the ninth time in their last 11 outings in Kauffman Stadium and snapped a four-game losing streak.

Oswalt threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 28 batters and went to a three-ball count only four times.

Bruce Chen (3-1) took the loss, his first since moving to the rotation on May 3. He went 5 2-3 innings and allowed five hits and four runs.