Verlander delivers again for Astros
Justin Verlander got his 11th win, Yordan Alvarez hit his 26th homer and Houston beat Kansas City 5-2 to take the home series 3-1.
Jose Altuve added a homer and three RBIs for the Astros, who bounced back after a 7-4 loss Wednesday night that snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Verlander (11-3) grinded through six innings, allowing seven hits and two runs — one earned — with eight strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.00 in his remarkable return from Tommy
John surgery. His ERA and WHIP (0.97) rank second in the AL. YANKEES 6, RED SOX 5 >> Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam, Aaron Hicks homered on the very next pitch and New York held on to beat Boston at Fenway Park despite a pair of home runs from the Red Sox's Rafael Devers.
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole (82) was staked to a 5-0 lead in the third. But he gave up Devers' tworun shot in the bottom half and his three-run shot in the fifth.
In all, Cole was charged with five runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven.
Hicks also tripled in the fifth and scored on Jose Trevino's double to give New York a 6-2 lead before Devers' second homer brought Boston within one run.
Three relievers shut the Red Sox down from there.
Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski (3-3) gave up six runs on six hits and five walks in five innings. CARDINALS 3, BRAVES 2, 11 INNINGS >> Dylan Carlson hit a tiebreaking single in the top of the 11th, and St. Louis defeated Atlanta to snap a four-game losing streak.
Nolan Gorman singled to begin the 11th and advance placement runner Nolan Arenado to third. Carlson's single glanced off the glove of second baseman Phil Gosselin.
Spencer Strider dominated with a career-high 12 strikeouts in six innings for the Braves. He recorded a strikeout in each of the first nine outs.
Strider, a fourth-round draft pick out of Clemson in 2020, has struck out 102 in 65 2/3 innings this year. He allowed two hits, no runs and two walks.
METS 10, MARLINS 0 >> J.D. Davis hit his first major league grand slam, James McCann launched a three-run homer and New York routed visiting Miami behind a solid start from Trevor Williams.
Davis set a career high with five RBIs and Williams (2-5) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts.
PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 3 >> Darick Hall homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and Philadelphia defeated visiting Washington.
Didi Gregorius added an RBI triple for Philadelphia, which took two of three from last-place Washington and improved to 6-2 against its NL East rival. Washington has lost seven of eight.
It was Hall's fourth homer in eight games since being called up from Triple-A to take over for injured star Bryce Harper.