Astros top Red Sox, look for series sweep tonight

BOSTON — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned from the disabled list with five solid innings and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Saturday for their seventh consecutive victory.

Martin Maldonado also homered for American League West-leading Houston, which won the first two legs of the three-game rematch of last year’s AL Division Series. The defending World Series champion Astros will try to sweep the major league-leading Red Sox tonight.

Morton (14-3) was activated from the disabled list after missing his last start with discomfort in his right shoulder. He allowed one run and three hits in the first inning, but Boston didn’t score again until Xander Bogaerts’ solo home run in the fifth.

Morton matched his win total from 2017. He allowed 2 runs and 7 hits, striking out 3 and walking 2. Roberto Osuna took over in the ninth and got his 15th save despite allowing a run. Osuna got out of a jam when J.D. Martinez grounded into a double play.

3Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4) pitched 3 1 / innings. Houston tagged him for five runs and six hits, including solo home runs by Bregman and Maldonado.

Tyler White hit an RBI triple and scored on Jake Marisnick’s sacrifice fly in the third, when a pair of runs put Houston up for good.

Bregman made it 3-1 in the fourth with his towering shot that bounced off a sign above the Green Monster, and Maldonado led off the fourth with his ninth of the season.

Bogaerts went 3 for 4 with two RBI. He gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first on a single after back-to-back

singles by Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi (Arkansas Razorbacks).

Morton ran into trouble in the fourth when he walked Christian Vazquez with two outs, Jackie Bradley Jr. followed with a single and Betts walked to load the bases. Marisnick got him out of the jam with a nice running catch on Benintendi’s fly ball just a couple steps from the scoreboard in left.

Rodriguez was pulled after walking Springer with one out in the fourth. Madonado led off the inning with a home run to left-center, the second in two innings off Rodriguez.

Brandon Workman replaced Rodriguez and allowed a single by Altuve, then walked Bregman to load the bases for Yuli Gurriel, who drove in Springer with a sacrifice fly that put Houston up 5-1.

ATHLETICS 8, RANGERS 6 Pinch hitter Matt Olson went the opposite way in the eighth inning for his 25th home run of the season to help host Oakland beat Texas. INDIANS 9, BLUE JAYS 8 Roberto Perez homered and drove in four, Michael Brantley hit a two-run shot and visiting Cleveland outslugged Toronto.

RAYS 10, ORIOLES 5 Ryan Yarbrough struggled but got his 14th victory, most among major league rookies, and host Tampa Bay won its 10th consecutive home game by beating Baltimore. NATIONAL LEAGUE

PIRATES 5, MARLINS 1 Josh Bell homered for the second game in a row, Ivan Nova got his first victory in a month and Pittsburgh beat visiting Miami for its fifth consecutive victory.

REDS 7, PADRES 2 (7) Joey Votto ended his two-month home run drought with the Reds’ 11th grand slam — one shy of the National League record — and host Cincinnati beat San Diego in a game called because of rain in the top of the seventh inning. NATIONALS 10, CUBS 3 Max Scherzer pitched a complete game and Washington took advantage of visiting Chicago in a victory in the opener of a doubleheader. INTERLEAGUE TIGERS 4, CARDINALS 3 Victor Reyes scored on a game-ending wild pitch with one out in the ninth inning, and host Detroit beat St. Louis. The Cardinals have lost five of seven.