HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros continued to mix outstanding pitching with just enough hitting Sunday afternoon to beat Toronto 4-2 at Minute Maid Park and complete a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays.

Right-hander Collin McHugh walked a tightrope through most of his seven innings, pitching himself into and out trouble nearly every time.

"He was under duress every inning," said Houston manager A.J. Hinch. "He had the leadoff batter on base the first four innings. That's not easy. He got out of it a couple of times. A couple of times they scored. But they never really got to him."

McHugh (5-1) didn't have his normal fastball and cutter, but relied on his curveball when he needed it most. He allowed six hits, four of them doubles, but struck out nine and walked only one.

"It was tough from the get go," McHugh said. "I had guys on base every inning. Three or four times they had guys on second with nobody out. You have to pitch in high stress situations. But we were able to battle through it. We've been doing it all year. Making a pitch when we need it."

Pat Neshek pitched a 1-2-3 eighth Sunday for Houston and closer Luke Gregson earned his 10th save in the ninth despite giving up two singles.

"The bullpen's proven themselves this year," said McHugh. "They take a lot of pride in protecting leads. It takes a lot of pressure off us."

So does the offense. The Astros seem to get just what they need. Sunday was a perfect example.

With a runner on second in the fourth inning, shortstop Jonathan Villar delivered a RBI double. With a runner on third and one out in the seventh, center fielder Jake Marisnick hit a sacrifice fly. With nobody on base, third baseman Luis Valbuena and left fielder Colby Rasmus hit home runs.

Houston trailed 2-1 after 3 1/2 innings and Sunday represented its 12th come-from-behind win of the season.

"We do have a good demeanor about ourselves when we fall behind," Hinch said. "Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind, but you're never out of it."

The Astros did it against Mark Buehrle, Toronto's 36-year-old left-hander. Buerhle (5-3) pitched eight innings, gave up six hits, including two doubles and the two home runs. He struck out five and walked two.

"It was a good day," said Buehrle. "I felt strong throughout. Over the course of the season, I have some outings where I get through the fifth or sixth inning, and I don't feel that good. And then there will be outings like today where I felt like I could have gone back out for another inning. I felt like everything was working for the most part. I made some mistakes, and they made me pay for

them."

The Astros have hit 57 homers this season, best in the American League and second best in franchise history through 38 games.

"I know sometimes it doesn't feel we can score in multiple ways, but we do," Hinch said. "We can score with our legs. Some timely hitting. The long ball is a big part of our offense."

The Astros do exude a quiet confidence.

"It's a positive environment," Hinch said. "It's contagious. This group is very close knit. We never got too high, or get too low. We're very methodical in the day-to-day approach. We manufactured a run today that was very important."

Villar led off the seventh inning with his second double of the day. Conger then had a key at-bat, moving Villar to third with infield grounder. Villar scored on Marisnick's sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

"You've got to put the ball in play," Conger said of his at-bat. "You'll do anything you can to put it on the ride side (of the infield)."

The Blue Jays finished their road trip to Baltimore and Houston 1-6.

"We just got our butt whooped here," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "You don't need to dissect it any more than that. That's just the way it goes sometimes.

"It was a good ballgame today. I thought we had a chance there with the Bautista sacrifice fly (that gave Toronto a 2-1 lead in the fourth). It looked like it would be a home run, and that would have made a big difference. We just came up short."

NOTES: Toronto 2B Devon Travis, who had started 35 of the Blue Jays' first 38 games, was not in the lineup Sunday after suffering irritation in his left shoulder in Saturday night's game. He underwent treatment in the visiting clubhouse at Minute Maid Park before the game. ... Houston manager A.J. Hinch gave C Jason Castro a second day in a row off. Castro had been hit in the foot by a pitch in Friday's game. "Castro's fine," Hinch said. ... Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson extended his streak of reaching base safely to 35 games in a row vs. Houston when he was hit by a pitch from Collin McHugh in the third inning Sunday. It's the longest active streak against one team in the majors. Teammate DH Jose Bautista had reached base safely 32 games in a row vs. Seattle.