KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch has a “soft rule” when it comes to a rain delay during a game: If it lasts about an hour, he'll usually remove his starting pitcher.

Good thing it's not a hard rule.

Hinch opted to keep Collin McHugh on the mound after a 49-minute stoppage Thursday night, and the soft-spoken righty responded with a resounding performance. He shut down the Kansas City Royals over six innings for a 5-2 victory in the opener of their AL Division Series.

“We checked in with him a couple times, but he was never really coming out of that game,” Hinch said of McHugh, a surprise 19-game winner this season. “That wasn't even his best tonight, and he got through a pretty good lineup and battled.”

Three relievers took over and got the game to Luke Gregerson, part of Oakland's wild-card collapse in Kansas City last year. He handled the ninth for a save.

George Springer and Colby Rasmus went deep for the homer-happy Astros, but they also scored via the same sort of small ball the Royals used in reaching the World Series last season.

TORONTO — A big day by the bottom of Texas' batting order helped the Rangers overcome an injury to slugger Adrian Beltre in the start of their postseason run.Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run homer against David Price, Rougned Odor added a solo shot and the Rangers beat the Blue Jays 5-3 Thursday in their AL Division Series opener as postseason baseball returned to Toronto for the first time in 22 years.“It means a lot to the team to come to Toronto and win that first game against a great pitcher,” Chirinos said.Both starting third baseman left with injuries: Beltre came in the third with a strained muscle in his lower back and Toronto's Josh Donaldson in the fifth after he was kneed in the head while sliding in an attempt to break up a double play.Rangers manager Jeff Banister said he wasn't sure whether Beltre would be available for Game 2 on Friday. In an effort to remain in the series, Beltre had a cortisone shot.After going for tests at a hospital, Beltre returned to the clubhouse about an hour after the game and walked gingerly. An MRI confirmed Beltre had a strained back.but no structural damage,