Yordan Alvarez hit three homers, including a grand slam, and drove in seven as the visiting Houston Astros finished with six homers overall and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 23-2 Saturday night.
Houston now has won eight straight, the longest winning streak in the American League. Baltimore has dropped five in a row, and all have come on the present homestand.
Alvarez led the offensive charge, but the Astros also got homers from Alex Bregman (three RBIs), Jose Altuve (three RBIs) and Carlos Correa (two RBIs). The club finished with 25 hits.
The Astros scored eight runs in the first two innings and battered Baltimore starter Aaron Brooks (2-6) for nine runs and nine hits in just three frames.
Reds 10, Cubs 1
Aristides Aquino became the second major league player to record a three-homer performance in the first 10 games of his career as host Cincinnati posted a victory over Chicago.
Aquino homered to lead off the second inning against Kyle Hendricks (8-9) and again with two outs in the third before adding another solo shot off Dillon Maples in the fourth. The last homer gave Aquino seven in 10 games, matching Colorado’s Trevor Story for the major league record.
Sonny Gray (7-6) scattered two hits and struck out seven over six innings to improve to 2-1 in four starts against Chicago this season.
Mets 3, Nationals 2
J.D. Davis’ sacrifice fly in the eighth inning capped another comeback win as New York beat visiting Washington.
The Mets have won eight straight games and 15 of their past 16 dating back to July 25 to move within a half-game of the Nationals, who lead the NL wild-card race. The Nationals have lost six of 10.
Juan Soto’s second homer of the game in the eighth inning gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead, but Mets pinch hitter Luis Guillorme led off the bottom half with his first career homer, a blast to right off Fernando Rodney (0-5).
Twins 4, Indians 1
Max Kepler and Marwin Gonzalez homered, and Jake Odorizzi pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings to pick up his 13th win as Minnesota reclaimed sole possession of first place in the AL Central with a victory over Cleveland in Minneapolis.
Luis Arraez had an RBI triple, and Ehire Adrianza and Jorge Polanco each had two hits for the Twins, who snapped a season-long four-game losing streak.
Odorizzi (13-5) gave up six hits and four walks while striking out six. Odorizzi has allowed just 10 hits and two runs while striking out 19 in 17 innings in three starts against the Indians this season.
Padres 8, Rockies 5
Manuel Margot hit a tie-breaking two-run homer, and Wil Myers followed with a pinch-hit solo homer in the eighth inning as host San Diego defeated Colorado.
Margot’s 10th home run of the season — and fourth in seven games — followed a leadoff walk drawn by Hunter Renfroe against right-handed Rockies reliever Jairo Diaz (4-3).
Between them, Margot and Renfroe reached base seven times in the game, combining for two homers, five RBIs and five runs scored. Rookie Andres Munoz evened his record at 1-1 with his first major league win.
Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 0
Max Muncy homered and scored twice, and Kenta Maeda pitched seven scoreless innings for his first victory in more than two months as host Los Angeles blanked Arizona.
Russell Martin had two hits and an RBI, and Kris Negron had an RBI single for the Dodgers, who have won nine of 11 and will attempt to win their fifth consecutive series in the final game of the three-game set Sunday.
Maeda (8-8) gave up three singles and struck out six without a walk. He beat Arizona for the second time this season with his first victory since May 31. He was 0-6 with a 5.26 ERA in 12 appearances since.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2
Eloy Jimenez slammed the 19th homer of his rookie campaign, Reynaldo Lopez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and Chicago held on to defeat visiting Oakland.
Welington Castillo also drove in a run for the White Sox, who picked up their fifth victory in the past seven games. Tim Anderson extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the seventh inning.
Lopez (7-9) earned the victory by scattering six hits, walking three and striking out three. He induced a trio of double-play balls.
Marlins 7, Braves 6 (10 innings)
Martin Prado hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as Miami rallied to defeat visiting Atlanta.
The Marlins, who have the worst record in the National League, trailed 6-2 to start the bottom of the ninth before rallying against the NL East leaders.
Braves starter Mike Soroka — a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award — pitched seven scoreless innings. Jeff Brigham (2-1) earned the win for Miami with one scoreless inning of relief.
Blue Jays 5, Yankees 4
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the seventh inning, and Toronto defeated visiting New York.
Teoscar Hernandez also hit a three-run homer for the Blue Jays, who have won two in a row after dropping the opener of the four-game series.
Gio Urshela had a two-run homer, and Gary Sanchez hit a solo shot for the Yankees.
Angels 12, Red Sox 4
Justin Upton hit a three-run home run, and Mike Trout finally hit his first-ever home run at Fenway Park as visiting Los Angeles powered past Boston.
Upton had four RBIs and Trout three as the Angels snapped a season-long eight-game losing streak in addition to ending an eight-game skid against the Red Sox. Taylor Cole (2-3) got the win, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Sam Travis homered for the Red Sox, who fell for the 10th time in their last 13 games.
Cardinals 3, Pirates 1
Adam Wainwright beat Pittsburgh for the 15th time in his career as host St. Louis defeated the Pirates.
Wainwright (8-8) worked six innings and struck out eight batters while holding the Pirates to their one run. Giovanny Gallegos worked 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings, and Carlos Martinez closed out the ninth inning to earn his 12th save.
The Cardinals won their seventh straight game against Pittsburgh. The free-falling Pirates lost for the 23rd time in their last 27 games.
Brewers 3, Rangers 2
Adrian Houser struck out a career-high 10 while allowing one run in six innings, and Milwaukee held on to beat visiting Texas.
Houser (5-5) allowed three hits and walked one. Trent Grisham went 3-for-3 in the leadoff spot with a walk and two runs, and Keston Hiura homered for the Brewers, who have won five in a row.
Texas right-hander Pedro Payano (1-1) went three innings in his third major league start, allowing two runs and five hits.
Royals 7, Tigers 0
Mike Montgomery pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out a career-high 12 batters as Kansas City silenced host Detroit.
Montgomery (2-5) retired the first 12 batters he faced and surpassed his previous career high of 10 strikeouts, set in 2015. He joined the Royals last month after the Chicago Cubs traded him for catcher Martin Maldonado.
Jorge Soler led the offense with his 33rd homer, a two-run shot. He also scored another run. Whit Merrifield supplied two hits, two runs and two RBIs, and Hunter Dozier added an RBI triple.
Giants 3, Phillies 1
Right-hander Jeff Samardzija retired 20 straight batters after allowing a first-inning home run, and Evan Longoria hit a two-run blast in the second inning, lifting San Francisco past visiting Philadelphia.
Kevin Pillar homered for the second straight day, helping the Giants win for a second time in three contests in the four-game series.
Longoria also had a single and Pillar a double in a game that totaled just eight hits. The Giants collected five of them in winning for just the third time in their past 10 games.
A’s 5, Mariners 4
Mike Zunino hit a three-run homer against his former team as Tampa Bay defeated host Seattle.
Kevin Kiermaier and Avisail Garcia also homered for the Rays, who have won 11 of their past 14 games.
Omar Narvaez went deep for the Mariners, who have lost seven of eight since tying their season-high with a six-game winning streak.
–Field Level Media
