Kelvin Herrera (3-4) worked a perfect eighth inning in relief of James Shields, and Greg Holland pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Shields was in quite a pitching matchup with the Astros’ Jordan Lyles, but the game came down to the bullpens. Houston brought in Wesley Wright (0-2) in the eighth and Hosmer greeted him with a single, and then Butler doubled off Josh Fields for the go-ahead run.

David Lough’s RBI double moments later created a cushion for the Royals, who also got a two-run homer from Salvador Perez earlier in the game to help them win three straight for the first time since May 1-5 — a stretch interrupted twice by weather postponements.