BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles wanted more starting pitching when they acquired right-hander Jeremy Hellickson last Friday. He gave them their wish.

Hellickson made his Orioles debut in style with seven shutout innings, and catcher Caleb Joseph hit a two-run homer as Baltimore extended its winning streak to five with a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Orioles (53-54) completed a three-game sweep of the Royals (55-51) after Kansas City had won 10 of its previous 11 games.

The beleaguered Baltimore starters came up big in the series, and Hellickson (1-0) helped by scattering five hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Buck Showalter knew plenty about Hellickson from the pitcher's days with the Rays, and the Baltimore manager enjoyed what he saw.

"He had good command of all his pitches," Showalter said. "They couldn't take one out of play. A little cutter here and there and located his fastball. He and Caleb worked well together."

The right-hander, acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies before the trade deadline, left to a standing ovation after the top of the seventh.

His biggest problem came when Kansas City put runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the sixth. Hellickson quickly retired the next three batters to maintain a 3-0 lead.

"It is always good to throw a good one your first time out with a new team," Hellickson said. "It was good to do that. But these guys made me feel welcomed from the second I walked in here."

The Baltimore starters simply shut down a strong Kansas City offense in the series, allowing just two runs in 22 innings. Royals manager Ned Yost gave credit to Ubaldo Jimenez, Dylan Bundy and Hellickson for quieting his offense, which had been banging the ball in recent games.

"They did a nice job of neutralizing the middle of the order, and that's what makes us tick," Yost said. "The three, four, five and six are what make us go. They did a good job of changing speeds, hitting their spots and keeping us off-balance."

The decisive offense came in the three-run second, with Joseph's two-run homer the big hit.

Mychal Givens (eighth) and Darren O'Day (ninth) pitched the final two innings for Baltimore.

The Orioles broke the game open with three runs in the eighth thanks to hits from Chris Davis (two-run double) and Tim Beckham (RBI triple).

Beckham also had a run-scoring double in the second.

Kansas City starter Jason Vargas (13-5) took the loss after having early trouble.

Baltimore showed lots of patience at the plate and often worked the count, driving up Vargas' pitch count. The left-hander gave up three runs and four hits but lasted just five innings, needing 96 pitches to make it that far.

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the second when Beckham sliced a one-out double to right, driving in Trey Mancini from second.

Joseph followed two batters later with a line-drive homer to left on a 1-1 pitch, giving Baltimore a 3-0 lead.

Rains came in the top of the third and caused a 35-minute delay, but Hellickson and Vargas both came back after the precipitation stopped. However, Kansas City simply could not find enough offense in the game or the series overall.

The Royals pushed across just three runs in the three games.

"We definitely didn't hit the ball well in this series," said Royals DH Mike Moustakas, tossed in the ninth by plate umpire John Tumpane along with Yost after arguing a strike call. "They pitched the ball great, and we just didn't have any offense going. You have to tip your hat sometimes, and they had an outstanding series over there on the mound."

NOTES: RHP Jeremy Hellickson took No. 58 for the Orioles in his debut, and LHP Donnie Hart shifted to No. 57. ... Orioles C Caleb Joseph extended his hitting streak to five thanks to a second-inning homer. ... Royals CF Lorenzo Cain was given the day off because of ongoing hamstring issues. Manager Ned Yost thought the veteran needed a break.