Verlander, Bregman lift Astros
Gardner, Stanton homer to help Yankees hand Mets their seventh straight loss
ARLINGTON, Texas — Justin Verlander struck out nine in seven innings after Shin-Soo Choo homered on the Houston ace’s first pitch of the game, and the Astros went on to beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 Friday night. The hard-throwing right-hander gave up three earned runs after allowing just two in his first 40⅔ innings on the road this season, but the Astros gave him a 4-1 lead in the second, capped by George Springer’s two-run double. Jose Altuve’s two-run homer off reliever Matt Bush gave the Astros their biggest lead in the seventh. Alex Bregman connected on a solo shot in the fifth against Texas starter Doug Fister, who left the game with right knee soreness after throwing one pitch in the sixth. YANKEES 4, METS 1: In New York, Brett Gardner hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer off Jacob deGrom on an eighth-inning change-up as the visiting Yankees beat the Mets in the Subway Series opener after losing Masahiro Tanaka to hamstring problems when the pitcher sprinted home to score his first major league run. Giancarlo Stanton added a ninth-inning homer off Paul Sewald, his 22nd at Citi Field — the most among visiting players. The Mets have lost seven straight and 12 of 14, and they have dropped nine straight home games. INDIANS 4, TIGERS 1: In Detroit, Jason Kipnis hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the ninth inning to lead Cleveland past Detroit. Jose Ramirez almost broke the tie earlier in the ninth, hitting Shane Greene’s 3-1 pitch just past the foul pole down the right-field line, but ended up drawing a walk. Yonder Alonso singled with two outs. CUBS 3, PIRATES 1: In Chicago, Kris Bryant had three hits and scored a run while batting leadoff for the first time in his career, Ian Happ made a spectacular diving catch near the left-field corner to end the game and surging Chicago beat slumping Pittsburgh. Bryant singled in his first three at-bats and scored in a two-run first inning, helping the Cubs win for the 10th time in 12 games. CARDINALS 7, REDS 6 (10): In Cincinnati, Jose Martinez homered twice off Matt Harvey, and Jedd Gyorko singled home the tie-breaking run in the 10th inning as St. Louis rallied to a victory. DIAMONDBACKS 9, ROCKIES 4: In Denver, Paul Goldschmidt continued his sizzling June with two long home runs and a double, and Arizona beat Colorado. ANGELS 4, TWINS 2: In Minneapolis, Ian Kinsler hit a two-run home run for the lead in the seventh inning and Justin Upton went deep in the eighth, powering Los Angeles past Minnesota. WHITE SOX 1, RED SOX 0: In Boston, Trayce Thompson had an RBI single in the seventh inning off Chris Sale, Dylan Covey pitched six innings as part of a threehitter and Chicago beat Boston. BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 1: In Toronto, J.A. Happ allowed two hits in seven innings to earn his 100th career victory, Russell Martin homered and drove in two runs and Toronto beat Baltimore. MARINERS 4, RAYS 3: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Marco Gonzales won his fourth straight start and Seattle beat Tampa Bay for the team’s 16th win in 20 games. GIANTS 9, NATIONALS 5: In Washington, Andrew McCutchen and Gorkys Hernandez homered for San Francisco. DODGERS 7, BRAVES 3: In Los Angeles, Cody Bellinger homered for the fourth straight game and Yasmani Grandal added two home runs to lift Los Angeles to a win over Atlanta. ATHLETICS 7, ROYALS 2 : In Oakland, Calif., Frankie Montas pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning to win his third straight start since being called up from the minors and Khris Davis homered twice to lead Oakland to a victory over Kansas City. BREWERS 12, PHILLIES: In Philadelphia, Ryan Braun homered twice and drove in five runs, and Milwaukee busted out of an offensive funk to beat Philadelphia and snap a three-game losing streak. MARLINS 4, PADRES 0: In Miami, Caleb Smith pitched into the sixth inning and had an RBI single for his first career hit to help Miami beat San Diego.