HOUSTON (Interstat) — Shane Bieber pitched into the sixth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays backed him with a two-run fourth inning to beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday night at Daikin Park.

Bieber (3-2) allowed one run on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking one. He exited after Jeremy Peña’s two-out single in the sixth, which scored Yainer Diaz from second and cut Toronto’s lead to 3-1. The right-hander had struggled in his previous start July 28 against Washington, when he lasted just 2/3 of an inning and allowed four earned runs, but he recovered with a composed outing against an Astros lineup that collected 10 hits but stranded runners repeatedly.

Cristian Javier (1-2) took the loss for Houston, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out two and walked none. The Astros threatened in the first, third and fourth innings but could not push a run across until the sixth. Toronto’s bullpen then closed the door, with Brendon Little striking out four over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Braydon Fisher stranding two inherited runners in the sixth, and Tyler Rogers working a clean ninth for his third save.

Toronto opened the scoring in the second inning when Alejandro Kirk hit his fourth home run of the season to left-center field. The solo shot gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. Toronto doubled the lead and added an insurance run in the fourth. Kazuma Okamoto led off with a sharp single to left, and George Springer followed with a ground-ball single to center. Kirk then popped out to first baseman Christian Walker on the infield fly rule. Jesus Sanchez lined a single to left that scored Okamoto, with Springer advancing to third and Sanchez moving to second when left fielder Taylor Trammell’s throw skipped away for an error. Ernie Clement then hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Springer for a 3-0 lead. Andres Gimenez flied out to end the inning.

Houston had its chances early. In the first, Yordan Alvarez singled and Daulton Varsho singled, but Christian Walker struck out to end the inning. In the third, Isaac Paredes walked with one out, and Walker singled to put runners on the corners, but Jose Altuve lined out to center to strand both. The Astros put two on in the fourth with a Diaz single and a Cam Smith single, but Peña grounded out to first to end that threat. In the fifth, Alvarez walked with one out, but Paredes struck out and Varsho grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Houston finally broke through in the sixth. Diaz singled to left with one out, and Cam Smith followed with a single to center. Peña then lined a single to center, scoring Diaz and sending Smith to third. Fisher relieved Bieber and intentionally walked Alvarez to load the bases. Paredes popped out foul to third baseman Okamoto to end the inning and preserve Toronto’s two-run lead.

Little took over in the seventh and extended his strikeout streak. After Varsho walked to open the inning, Walker grounded into a double play, and Altuve singled. Pinch-hitter Zach Dezenzo struck out swinging to end the frame. Little struck out the side in the eighth, punching out Diaz, Cam Smith and Yordan Alvarez around a walk to Peña. Rogers then set down the Astros in order in the ninth, getting Paredes on a groundout, Varsho on a groundout and Walker on a flyout to right.

Myles Straw had two hits and a double for Toronto, and Kirk finished 1 for 4 with a home run and an RBI. Clement drove in a run without a hit. Peña drove in Houston’s lone run. Tatsuya Imai pitched three hitless innings of relief for Houston, striking out five, but the Astros could not close the gap.

The win snapped Toronto’s two-game losing streak. The Blue Jays had dropped the finale of their weekend series against St. Louis on Sunday, and they entered Monday having lost four of their previous six. Houston, meanwhile, had won three straight and six of seven before the loss. The Astros had taken two of three from Toronto when the teams met in June in Toronto, but the Blue Jays claimed the opener of this three-game series. The teams will meet again Tuesday and Wednesday in Houston.

Bieber’s outing marked the sixth time in his past seven starts that he allowed three earned runs or fewer, and he worked around trouble in the third when Houston put two on with one out. He also stranded a runner in the first and another in the fourth. His 5 2/3 innings were his longest since July 11 against San Diego, and he threw 17 strikes and 34 balls in a game that lacked overwhelming volume but featured effective sequencing. Toronto pitchers combined for 17 strikes, 34 balls and 17 balls in play, while Houston pitchers combined for 11 strikes, 50 balls and 11 balls in play.

The Blue Jays took advantage of their limited opportunities. They had seven hits total and scored three times. Houston had 10 hits and scored once, leaving multiple runners in scoring position in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings. The Astros went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and their only hit in those situations came on Peña’s single in the sixth.

The game lasted 2 hours, 28 minutes and drew an announced crowd of 22,789 at Daikin Park. Toronto improved to 53-60, while Houston fell to 58-56.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston 7, Toronto 6, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Houston a 54 percent probability to win. Houston was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 4 went under the over/under line of 9.