Houston ? Jason Vargas went a long time since he last won a game in the majors.

The wait ended Friday night. Finally.

Vargas gained his first win in nearly two years, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros, 5-1.

Vargas (1-0) returned from Tommy John surgery last September and earned his first victory since June 8, 2015. He held Houston to a run and six hits and struck out six over six innings while leading Kansas City to its first victory of the season after being swept at Minnesota in its first three games.

“I don’t know that I was ever worried if I was going to get another win or another loss,” Vargas said. “It’s just a waiting game in rehab. It always sounds so far removed on the telecasts when they say your last win was in June of 2015. It wasn’t that you were unable to get a win, you just didn’t have an opportunity. It was just a waiting game that played out the right way for us.”

Royals manager Ned Yost said Vargas, 34, returning at the end of last season gave the team a boost as it headed into the winter offseason because of the competitive fire he brings to the rotation.

“Vargas was fantastic,” Yost said. “We knew that getting him back gave us someone we could count on every fifth day.”

The Royals entered 1 for 14 on the season with runners in scoring position, then went 3 for 15 Friday, stranding 10 runners. Kansas City finally broke out when a two-run double by Alex Gordon in the eighth inning put the Royals up by four.

“We had to grind it out,” Yost said. “We had opportunities to tack on runs, but just couldn’t get it done until Gordon got the big double with runners in scoring position. That made it a lot easier. We had the opportunity to give Vargas a little breathing room, but we just couldn’t push the runs across. That relieved some of the pressure, and allowed the bullpen guys to be on the attack in a small ballpark.”

Salvador Perez hit a solo homer in the second inning, turning on Mike Fiers’ 89 mph fastball and lining a shot onto the train tracks behind the left-field foul pole.