HOUSTON — James McDonald was hoping to end a recent string of bad outings on Sunday.

Instead, the Pittsburgh right-hander’s struggles continued and the Houston Astros ended a team-record 12-game losing streak with a 9-5 victory over the Pirates.

In five innings, McDonald (10-5) gave up five runs and six hits with a career-high seven walks — matching his total of free passes for the month of June in 30 2-3 innings. McDonald has lost consecutive decisions for the first time this season and is 1-2 with an 8.71 ERA in his last four starts.

“The last couple outings have been rough,” McDonald said. “I think every year I’ve pitched, I’ve been in the same situation where you have to fight your way out of a couple of rough starts. I’ve got some work ahead of me.”

It was the fourth consecutive start where McDonald allowed five runs or more after holding opponents to four runs or fewer in his first 17 outings.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said McDonald worked hard, but his delivery and release point were inconsistent.

“This guy was lights out,” Hurdle said. “This is his second full season in the major leagues. This isn’t really that weird in the context of what goes on, he’s hit a wall. He was hard to hit, but then you’re getting to a point where you’re just trying to throw strikes and you’re not painting locations like we’ve seen him do.”