PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Archer came to Pittsburgh with much fanfare when he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31. Then he went 1-3 in his first eight starts with the Pirates.

It’s almost certainly too late for the Pirates to make a playoff push this season, but on Wednesday night, Archer finally looked like the pitcher they thought they were getting at the non-waiver trade deadline. He pitched seven strong innings, and Pittsburgh completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 2-1 win.

In his most impressive start since the trade, Archer (5-8) allowed one run on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander made it out of the sixth inning for the first time in nine starts for the Pirates.

“The one thing I hang my hat on is making starts and pitching deep into ballgames,” Archer said. “Giving up way more runs than I wanted to this year, but the thing that frustrates me the most is my average innings. It has to be the lowest of my career, but there’s a correlation. The better you pitch, the deeper you pitch into games.”

The Pirates remain marooned in fourth place in the NL Central despite a five-game winning streak that’s moved them three games over .500.

“You play the game to win the game,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The games matter. They matter Game 1 to Game 150 to Game 151. There’s nobody that suits up and wants to go out and not play well.”

Felipe Vazquez allowed one walk in the ninth but earned his 35th save one day after he let a 1-0 lead slip away — his fifth blown save of the season. The Pirates went on to win 2-1 in 11 innings on Tuesday night.

Adam Frazier broke a 1-1 tie with a homer to right-center with two outs in the fifth inning off rookie right-hander Heath Fillmyer (3-2). It was Frazier’s ninth homer of the season, and it came two days after he fouled a ball off his knee.

The injury held Frazier out of the starting lineup Tuesday, although he entered in the ninth and played the final three innings. He started Wednesday at second base.

Fillmyer allowed two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings for Kansas City, which has lost four straight after winning five of six.

“What do they say in baseball? You can win a game with 100 pitches and lose a game with one. That’s kind of what happened today,” Fillmyer said. “Not that I was perfect by any means, but you know what? I left one a little up. The guy got it, and it ended up being the difference.”

Royals manager Ned Yost was pleased with how the 24-year-old battled.

“These are big-league starts,” Yost said. “That’s exactly what you ask for. Go out, keep us in the game, give us a chance to win. That’s exactly what it is.”

Colin Moran put the Pirates on the board with a single to left that scored Corey Dickerson, who was 2 for 3 with two doubles, in the second inning. Adalberto Mondesi tied it with a homer to center, his 10th, in the third.

LINEUP CHANGE

Royals: OF Jorge Bonifacio was taken out of the starting lineup after going 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and one walk Tuesday. He entered as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and drew a walk.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: RHP Chad Kuhl underwent elbow surgery on Wednesday. No further details regarding the operation were provided. Kuhl was re-examined by Dr. David Altchek in New York on Tuesday. He last pitched on June 26.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (2-4, 3.93 ERA) is expected to start against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. He left Kansas City’s game against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 14 with a left rib contusion sustained in a collision with 3B Hunter Dozier.

Pirates: RHP Ivan Nova (9-9, 4.07) takes the mound against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. In his past two starts, Nova has allowed one run on seven hits over 12 innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs were desperate for help at cornerback this offseason when general manager Brett Veach made the curious decision to spend what remained of his salary cap on Sammy Watkins. Well, that questionable move paid off last Sunday, when the full depth of the Chiefs’ offensive arsenal was on display in Pittsburgh. Now, the pressure is on opposing defense to figure out a way to stop it.

ATLANTA (AP) — The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves snapped a four-game skid with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals as Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer and Touki Toussaint pitched into the sixth inning. The Cardinals, leading for the second wild-card spot, ended a three-game winning streak.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Archer pitched seven strong innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 2-1 win. In his most impressive start since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31, Archer allowed one run on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. The right-hander made it out of the sixth inning for the first time in nine starts for the Pirates, who traded for him in hopes of making a playoff run.

UNDATED (AP) — No. 17 TCU will be trying to win its fifth consecutive game against Texas for the first time in a series that dates back to 1897. TCU has won those last four games by an average margin of 38-8. Texas is coming off big win at home over then-No. 22 Southern Cal. TCU lost 40-28 loss to fourth-ranked Ohio State last week.

National Headlines

ATLANTA (AP) — Alabama and Georgia are looking strong as the nation’s top-ranked college football teams. Even so, it’s far too early to assume the SEC rivals that met in last year’s national championship game will play again for this year’s conference title. The SEC has shown impressive depth in the first three weeks while staking early claim to bragging rights as the nation’s best conference.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Indians All-Star Trevor Bauer is scheduled to pitch Friday against Boston, his first appearance since breaking his right leg last month. Indians manager Terry Francona said Bauer will pitch a “couple of innings” versus the Red Sox and hopes he’ll make two additional starts before the postseason. Bauer is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts this year.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu has been released from a Cleveland hospital after undergoing treatment for an infection in his right thigh. White Sox manager Rick Renteria says Abreu is resting at the team’s hotel. He won’t play in the series against the Indians.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The New York Mets have shut down Zack Wheeler for the rest of the season after the right-hander logged nearly 100 more innings than in 2017. Wheeler went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts this season, but he was 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA over his final 11 starts. Wheeler missed two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015 and was 3-7 with a 5.21 last year.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum says he plans to practice with the first team tomorrow after sitting out today’s workout with a sore knee. Keenum was hit five times in the pocket, sacked once, and ran three times for 16 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 20-19 win over Oakland, but he doesn’t remember tweaking the knee in that game. He’s led the Broncos to their sixth straight 2-0 start with a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks.

Wednesday Scores

INTERLEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 2 Kansas City 1

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 8 Detroit 2
Final Tampa Bay 9 Texas 3
Final N-Y Yankees 10 Boston 1
Final Baltimore 2 Toronto 1
Final Cleveland 4 Chi White Sox 1
Final Seattle 9 Houston 0
Final Oakland 10 L-A Angels 0

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Atlanta 7 St. Louis 3
Final Philadelphia 4 N-Y Mets 0
Final Milwaukee 7 Cincinnati 0
Final San Diego 8 San Francisco 4
Final Arizona 9 Chi Cubs 0
Final L-A Dodgers 5 Colorado 2

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
N-Y Jets at Cleveland 8:20 p.m. Thursday