10th straight win? No sweat

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A.J. Hinch wiped the sweat from his brow after watching his Astros win their 10th straight game on Saturday, joking that he might get tossed early the next time out to avoid the Kansas City heat.

The skipper hasn’t been sweating many outcomes lately.

Houston’s latest solid start came from Dallas Keuchel, who allowed the Royals two unearned runs over six sharp innings. Its latest offense came from Max Stassi and Alex Bregman, who belted three-run homers at spacious Kauffman Stadium. And its latest win was a 10-2 rout as the heat index eclipsed 100 degrees.

“I’m really happy with how consistently the guys are showing up expecting to win, and then going out and doing it,” Hinch said. “We’re a hard team to beat right now.”

No matter the situation. No matter the conditions.

“Winning streak, no winning streak, it doesn’t matter. We just play our game,” said Bregman, who survived the blazing sun and oppressive heat, which sent Stassi and Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel to the clubhouse with symptoms of dehydration.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the first to send the World Series champions on their way. The Astros have won the first nine games on their 10-game road swing, already making it the best trip in club history with the series finale still to come on Sunday.

Coincidentally, the Astros had an 11-game win streak end in Kansas City last season.

Keuchel (4-8) has begun to emerge from a monthlong funk, allowing two unearned runs and six hits in six innings. The 2015 Cy Young winner had surrendered a combined 17 runs over his last three outings, and had not won since tossing seven scoreless innings against Texas on May 13.

Meanwhile, the Royals have lost five straight and are 2-12 since the calendar flipped to June.

“We’ve been around this clubhouse for a while to the point that we’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs,” Royals pitcher Danny Duffy said.