Granderson belts a pair as Jays upend Astros
HOUSTON Curtis Granderson homered in consecutive at-bats against Justin Verlander, Randal Grichuk added a two-run shot and a huge defensive play, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-3 on Monday night.
Granderson’s leadoff shot in the fifth tied it at 3. He connected again with two out in the seventh, belting an oppositefield drive off Verlander (9-3) into the second row in the Crawford Boxes in left field.
Grichuk’s soaring home run, which clanged off the light pole above the train tracks on the left-field wall, came against Will Harris and made it 6-3 with two out in the eighth.
Grichuk then reached over the short wall in right field to rob George Springer of a homer with two on and no outs in the ninth.
Verlander, who entered a major league-best 1.60 ERA, allowed four runs and seven hits — both season highs — in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two in his first loss since May 11.
Toronto’s J.A. Happ (10-3) yielded three runs and seven hits in six innings in his sixth straight win. Seung-hwan Oh worked the ninth for his second save.
RAYS 11, NATIONALS 0
ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals.
YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2
PHILADELPHIA — Jonathan Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak.
ATHLETICS 5, TIGERS 4
DETROIT — Jed Lowrie hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift Oakland over Detroit on a historic day for Edwin Jackson.
MARINERS 5, ORIOLES 3
BALTIMORE — Dee Gordon’s slick seventh-inning bunt was the lone hit in a tworun uprising that put Seattle ahead for good, and the Mariners beat the Orioles for just their second win in eight games.
MARLINS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 5
MIAMI — Brian Anderson and Cameron Maybin each drove in two runs, helping Miami spoil Shelby Miller’s return to the mound after missing over a year for Tommy John surgery.
PIRATES 6, METS 4
NEW YORK — Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, Gregory Polanco also went deep and the Pirates took advantage of some dreadful defence by the Mets to snap a five-game losing streak.
ROYALS 2, ANGELS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brad Keller pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, helping the Royals beat the Angels in the makeup of a game that was frozen out in April.