In the midst of a difficult season Adidas Henrik Lundqvist Jersey , the Kansas City Royals got a needed spark Friday night from one of their newest additions.

Rookie Rosell Herrera kept the game scoreless with a home-run robbery in the eighth inning and hit an RBI triple in the ninth, and struggling Kansas City beat the Houston Astros 1-0.

Herrera helped the Royals end a nine-game skid by bringing back Alex Bregman’s would-be homer. The right fielder reached over the short outfield wall to snag the first out in the eighth.

”He’s athletic, he’s fast,” manager Ned Yost said. ”He seems to swing the bat OK from both sides. It’s only been a week. There’s a lot to like looking at him on a short look.”

Adalberto Mondesi singled off Ken Giles (0-2) to start the ninth, stole second and took third on a flyout by Whit Merrifield. Herrera then sent a ball to center field to score Mondesi.

Herrera also had a double and is batting .278 in five games since being cut by Cincinnati and acquired by the Royals.

”That was very fun, not only for me but for my teammates because we played really good defense today … and that’s why we made the right play at the right time and won the game,” Herrera said.

Danny Duffy pitched six innings of two-hit ball for the Royals, and the bullpen didn’t allow another knock. Justin Grimm (1-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tim Hill threw a perfect ninth for his first save.

When asked about his work Friday night, Duffy briefly discussed his outing before raving about Herrera.

”Rosie he’s a stud, man,” he said. ”I’m a big fan of that kid. If he keeps playing as hard as he does, he’s always going to have a spot in the big leagues. We love that here. I’m really happy for him. He had a fantastic game.”

Houston was shut out for the first time since May 11. They still had several opportunities to score because of seven walks but went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

”It’s unusual because we’ve been pretty good swinging the bat lately,” manager A.J. Hinch said. ”It seemed like every opportunity ended in a double play tonight.”

Houston starter Dallas Keuchel pitched six strong innings. He allowed six hits and struck out six, while Duffy fanned seven after being tagged for seven runs in six innings of a loss to the Astros on Saturday.

The Royals had just wrapped an 0-8 homestand and had lost 15 of 16.

Kevin McCarthy took over for Duffy in the seventh and issued consecutive walks to Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez. Pinch-hitter Tony Kemp then grounded into a force out that left Gattis out at third. But the Astros loaded the bases when pinch-hitter Tyler White reached on a fielder’s choice.

Houston came away empty-handed when George Springer grounded into a double play.

Salvador Perez doubled with one out in the eighth and Houston intentionally walked Alex Gordon before Alcides Escobar drew a walk to load the bases. The game remained scoreless when Hector Rondon struck out Paulo Orlando to end the inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Hinch said RHP Joe Smith (right elbow inflammation) is improving but still has several steps to go through before he’s ready to come off the disabled list.

STREAK ENDS

Escobar started in center field, snapping a streak of 407 straight starts at shortstop dating to Sept. 26, 2015. That streak was the longest in Royals history and the longest active streak in the majors. It’s the first time he’s played a position other than shortstop since he joined the Royals in 2011 and the sixth time in his career he’s played in the outfield, after appearing in five games there for the Brewers in 2010.

The Royals started Mondesi at shortstop instead. They have said Escobar will also see time at second and third base this season.

”I just think that the time was right,” Yost said. ”He knows that his next career move is probably going to be a utility-type player … and he’s anxious to start showing people that he can handle it.”

Escobar, who entered the game 2 for 28, had two hits including a double.

”I thought (Escobar) looked good in center. He hits good as a center fielder Adidas Mats Zuccarello Jersey ,” Yost said with a laugh.

UP NEXT

Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3, 3.77 ERA) looks for his third straight win when as he opposes Ian Kennedy (1-7, 5.31) Saturday night. Kennedy hasn’t won in 13 starts, going 0-7 with a 6.12 ERA since his only win of the season on April 7.

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BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles finally found some offense on its just-concluded six-game road trip, a big reason the team split six games.

They scored 20 runs while taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend, and the Orioles want to try to keep that going against the Seattle Mariners when their four-game series starts on Monday at Camden Yards.

The Orioles scored 10, 7 and three runs against the Braves, and Mark Trumbo’s bat has come to life. Trumbo had five homers in the past week after getting a pinch-hit blast on Sunday during a 7-3 loss.

Baltimore needs that kind of offense if it wants to continue playing competitively.

Baltimore (23-53) will take on Seattle (47-31) for the first time this season in this series. The Orioles lost two of three in Washington against the Nationals before taking those two games in Atlanta and finally got some good pitching and hitting.

Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.72 ERA) starts for the Orioles Monday against Felix Hernandez (6-6, 5.14). Despite his record, Cashner has not pitched that badly. The Orioles just have not given him a lot of offensive support at times.

He is 2-4 with a 4.04 career ERA versus the Mariners.

Hernandez has been inconsistent throughout much of this season but fared better lately. He has thrown well in three of his last four starts, and the Mariners are hoping for more of the same in this game.

Hernandez has a 5-4 career record and a 3.30 ERA against the Orioles.

The Orioles are starting to get back a number of players who were out due to injuries or have players who are finding their way after being out awhile.

Closer Zach Britton gave up four runs in the ninth inning of Friday’s 10-7 victory over Atlanta. That forced the contest into extra innings, and the Orioles won that in 15, but Britton rebounded and closed out Saturday’s win.

Trumbo has gotten hotter, and infielder Tim Beckham could return as early as Monday after missing about two months due to core muscle surgery.

“We’re looking forward to getting Tim back,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Baltimore Sun. “We’re hoping to get him back to the player he was when he originally came over (in last summer’s trade with the Tampa Bay Rays). I’m hoping this surgery and some of the things can help him.”

Seattle is hoping that shortstop Jean Segura also will return Monday.

Segura has missed four straight games due to an infection in his right forearm. The arm was drained on Friday but he did not play over the weekend at the Boston Red Sox.

Nelson Cruz has hit in eight straight games and will face his former team in this series. He played for the Orioles in 2014 and helped them win the division and make it to the American League Championship Series before signing with the Mariners after that.

The Mariners could use help from Segura and Cruz as they have struggled throughout this East Coast swing. Seattle has gone just 1-5 on the trip so far, dropping three straight to the Yankees and two of three to Boston.

“We’ve got to get it turned back around,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We had a lot of momentum going but this trip has not gone well, obviously.”