Astros defeat Twins for 4th straight win
Alex Bregman hit three doubles and Yuli Gurriel homered for the second game in a row, leading Justin Verlander and the host Houston Astros over the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Verlander (14-9) yielded one run and three hits with eight strikeouts over seven innings.
With the win, Houston extended its American League West lead over the second-place A’s to 3½ games.
Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco homered off reliever Chris Devenski to begin the ninth. After Robbie Grossman walked, Roberto Osuna took over and gave up a single to Tyler Austin with one out. Gurriel then caught Max Kepler’s liner and stepped on first to complete the double play and give Osuna his 13th save.
The Astros got to Twins starter Trevor May immediately when George Springer hit a leadoff single and scored on a one-out double by Bregman. Tyler White hit an RBI single with two outs to score Bregman before Gurriel homered.
D’backs 6, Padres 0: Robbie Ray struck out 10 and pitched two-hit ball for 61⁄3 innings as host Arizona ended a fourgame skid that had knocked it out of the NL West lead.
Dodgers 11, Mets 4: David Freese hit his first homer with his new club and Rich Hill rebounded from a sluggish start on the mound as Los Angeles erased an early fourrun deficit at home.
Orioles 5, Mariners 3: A rough day for host Seattle that began with a clubhouse brawl (see Page B5) ended with Baltimore rookie Renato Nuñez getting three hits and a homer as the Orioles rallied.
Indians 9, Royals 3: Mike Clevinger struck out 10, Francisco Lindor hit another leadoff homer and host Cleveland moved closer to its third straight AL Central title. The Indians ended a three-game losing streak and reduced their magic number for clinching another division title to 11.
Cardinals 11, Nationals 8: Yadier Molina hit a grand slam (the sixth of his career), and Marcell Ozuna homered twice for visiting St. Louis.
Red Sox 5, Braves 1: Steve Pearce had three hits and three RBIs, and Rick Porcello allowed two hits in five innings as Boston won on the road.
Rangers 4, Angels 2: Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each hit a solo homer in the fourth inning for host Texas.
Pirates 7, Reds 3: Starling Marte hit a two-run homer, and Gregory Polanco had a two-run double for host Pittsburgh.
Phillies 9, Marlins 4: Carlos Santana homered to start visiting Philadelphia’s rout.
Rays 4, Blue Jays 0: Ryne Stanek became the first rookie pitcher in 75 years to start consecutive games, combining with six relievers on a threehitter for visiting Tampa Bay.
Brewers 11, Cubs 1: Visiting Chicago committed three errors and was held to three hits in six innings by lefthander Wade Miley. The Cubs’ lead over Milwaukeein the NL Central was cut to three games .
Tigers 8, White Sox 3: Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer and Grayson Greiner drove in three runs for visiting Detroit.