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Yusei Kikuchi struck out 12 batters in seven innings to help the Houston Astros secure a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Kikuchi (7-9) improved to 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA since joining Houston just before the trade deadline. He allowed five hits and gave up just one run, which came on a fielder’s choice grounder after two singles in the seventh inning. He threw 101 pitches, with 75 strikes, and didn’t walk any batters.

“He was really, really, really good,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He had all his pitches working, both sides of the plate. Our starting pitching has been phenomenal for a while, and Kikuchi just adds another level of quality of starts that we’ve been getting from these guys.”

Kikuchi celebrated with a fist pump after getting his 12th strikeout to end the seventh inning.