Verlander is stellar again as Astros win
Houston’s Justin Verlander turned in another solid start in his return from Tommy John surgery and Alex Bregman had three hits and three RBIs as the Astros completed a three-game sweep of Seattle with a 7-2 win in Houston on Wednesday.
Verlander allowed five hits and two runs in 62⁄3 innings for the win. He is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts in his return after pitching just one game in the previous two seasons.
“It’s just one start at a time,“Verlander said. “This game will bring you down in a hurry so you can’t be complacent. But I would say it’s better to get off to a good start than a bad one, but I’ve just got to keep working.“
Michael Brantley added two RBIs as the Astros continued to roll with their first sweep this season, a day after helping Dusty Baker become the 12th manager in major-league history and the first Black man to reach 2,000 wins.
Houston second baseman Jose Altuve fouled a ball off his groin area in the fourth and departed before the fifth. Altuve had right groin soreness. Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1: Jordan Romano stranded the bases loaded in the ninth inning, making Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s tie-breaking single stand up as host Toronto ended New York’s winning streak at 11.
Orioles 9, Twins 4: Cedric Mullins and Ramon Urias each hit a two-run homer during a six-run third as host Baltimore dealt Minnesota its second loss in 13 games.
Padres, Guardians split: Mike Clevinger allowed three runs in 42⁄3 innings in his first start since having Tommy John surgery in 2020 and Manny Machado hit a two-run homer as visiting San Diego edged Cleveland 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Rookie Steven Kwan’s RBI single in the 10th inning gave the Guardians a 6-5 win in the nightcap.
Pirates, Tigers split: Will Vest wild-pitched home the goahead run in the seventh and Daniel Vogelbach added a late two-run homer as visiting Pittsburgh beat Detroit 7-2 to earn a doubleheader split. In Game 1, the Tigers scored three unearned runs in a 3-2 victory.
Braves 9, Mets 2: Adam Duvall hit a two-run double during a seven-run sixth inning for visiting Atlanta, which had managed just four runs in a doubleheader sweep by New York on Tuesday.
Diamondbacks 8, Marlins 7: Pavin Smith hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning for visiting Arizona.
Cardinals 10, Royals 0: Adam Wainwright pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and Nolan Arenado hit a three-run shot and finished with five RBIs for visiting St. Louis.
Rangers 2, Phillies 1: Brad Miller hit a two-run single in the 10th inning to give visiting Texas a season-high four-game winning streak.
Briefly: Mets reliever Trevor May has a stress reaction in his right arm, an injury that is expected to sideline him for at least eight weeks . ... Baltimore right-hander Chris Ellis had shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the season, the Baltimore Sun reported . ... Cincinnati outfielders Nick Senzel and Tyler Naquin were placed on the COVID-19 injured list . ... Kansas City first baseman Carlos Santana went on the 10-day IL because of an ankle injury.