HOUSTON -- There didn't appear to be much of a window between the moment Houston Astros ace left-hander Dallas Keuchel landed on the 10-day disabled list and the time he started champing at the bit to return to the mound.

He wanted to resume what had been a dominating start to his season, and his first start back was no surprise.

Keuchel made a triumphant return from the pinched nerve in his neck that sidelined him, and George Springer homered and scored twice as the Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

Keuchel (8-0) missed one turn through the rotation yet pitched as though no time had elapsed, allowing one run, four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch aimed to limit Keuchel to six innings and 88 pitches in his return. Keuchel threw 86 and met that goal, too.

"I was warming up and I was able to command the ball in the bullpen," Keuchel said. "So even not throwing I was able to do some dry runs. So I don't necessarily put a lot of effort into in-between work. It's more just trying to keep athleticism and rhythm and timing. So when that's going it's usually going to come out pretty good."

Springer finished 2-for-5 and belted his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning off Orioles left-hander Wade Miley (1-3).

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve also scored twice, including on an error by Orioles center fielder Joey Rickard in the seventh inning. Altuve went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

Welington Castillo delivered an RBI single against Keuchel with two outs in the third inning to cut the Baltimore deficit to 2-1.

Chris Davis tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, but the Astros (34-16) reclaimed that run when Altuve singled, stole second base and came home on the Rickard fielding miscue.

"The tempo is usually set by the other pitcher, and he's a great locator of the baseball," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Keuchel. "If you go back through his outings and see how many times he misses location compared to other people, you'll get an idea of why he's so good. They get up early like that, guys tend to push more which falls more right into his repertoire."

Miley, who allowed four runs in five innings, was under duress immediately, surrendering three straight hits to the first three batters he faced in the first inning.

Springer scored from first base when Altuve lined a double to straightaway center field that just eluded Rickard. Springer paused to make sure Rickard did not make the catch, which facilitated the need of a deft slide at home plate.

Altuve scored when Carlos Correa added an infield single one batter later.

"I think the entire building feels good," Hinch said of the two-run lead. "If you like the Astros, you like the Astros even better with a lead with Keuchel pitching. It means something to our dugout. It puts a little pressure on the other dugout. Dallas has the ability to command the game, especially when he has the lead."

With two outs in the fourth inning, Springer launched a 447-foot blast to left-center field that scored Alex Bregman and extended the Houston lead to 4-1.

For Springer, it was his first homer in 13 days and second consecutive multi-hit performance. He combined with Altuve to give Keuchel what he needed to thrive.

"A lot of 3-2 counts, 3-1 counts," Miley said. "Obviously, you want to get deep into the ballgame. The 3-1 pitch to Springer, I had to throw a strike there with Altuve on deck. He got it."

NOTES: The Orioles recalled LHP Donnie Hart from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned LHP Jayson Aquino to the Tides. Hart was 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA in 19 appearances with Baltimore before being optioned to Norfolk on May 17. Aquino was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in three appearances, including one start against the Boston Red Sox on April 22 when he allowed two runs, six hits and three walks in six innings ofn a 4-2 victory. ... Astros RHP Brad Peacock will make his second start of the season Monday in Minnesota. Peacock (2-0, 0.87 ERA) worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings last Monday against the Detroit Tigers while making a spot start. RHP Mike Fiers (1-2, 5.21) will move to the bullpen. ... Orioles CF Adam Jones was sidelined by ankle and hip soreness and is expected to miss the series finale as well. Jones is tentatively expected to be re-evaluated when the club returns to Baltimore for a nine-game homestand starting Monday.