Astros extend win streak to 8
Rockies starter German Marquez, front, reacts as
DENVER — Abraham Toro homered in the second of two five-run innings as the Astros extended their major-league best winning streak to eight games with a 10-8 win over the Rockies on Thursday.
Jose Altuve had two hits, including a two-run double that fueled a fiverun second inning, when the Astros batted around against German Marquez (2-4). It was Altuve’s second straight multihit game since being returned to the No. 2 spot in the batting order after three the No. 6 hole.
Ryan McMahon hit two homers for the Rockies, who have lost seven of eight, including all four games of a home-andhome set against the Astros.
Kyle Tucker, who homered and tripled twice the night before, had another triple among his two hits and two RBIs in the Astros’ ninth consecutive victory against the Rockies, including the four this week.
Brooks Raley (1-0) worked 11⁄3 innings for the victory and Ryan Pressly gave up an RBI groundout games in en route to his third save. Right fielder Josh Reddick made a diving catch of Trevor Story’s sinking line drive for the final out.
McMahon had his fifth career multihomer game, hitting a two-run homer off Astros starter Cristian Javier in the second and another two-run shot off Raley in the fifth. Nolan Arenado had a solo homer in the third and Sam Hilliard had a career-high four hits for the Rockies.
Before the game, Astros All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman was placed on the 10-day IL with right hamstring discomfort.
Mets: The Mets received two positive tests for COVID-19 in their organization, prompting the postponement of two games. The finale of the Mets’ four-game series against the Marlins in Miami was called off an hour before it was scheduled to start Thursday night. Friday’s game between the Mets and Yankees at Citi Field was also postponed to allow for additional testing and contact tracing to be conducted. The Marlins were still scheduled to travel to Washington for a series against the Nationals beginning Friday. The Marlins had a coronavirus outbreak last month that forced them to suspend their season for eight days.
Rays, Yankees: The Rays completed their first sweep at Yankee Stadium in six years and took over first place in the AL East, getting a three-run HR from Mike Zunino in a 10-5 victory. The Rays beat the Yankees for the sixth time in seven meetings in the abbreviated 10-game season series. The Rays also became the first team to sweep a threegame series at Yankee Stadium since the Indians on Aug. 28-30, 2017. The Rays previously swept series of three games or more at Yankee Stadium in 2013 and 2014. The Rays became the fifth team in major league history to sweep a series of at least three games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium on the same trip . ... Yankees LHP James Paxton, who started the game and went five innings, will have an MRI after feeling some discomfort in his forearm/elbow area. Also, SS Gleyber Torres also will undergo an MRI after leaving the game with a tight left hamstring.
Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr. revealed that he’s cancer free after surgery in March to remove a tumor from his prostate. Known as “The Iron Man” for his record streak of playing in 2,632 consecutive games, the Hall of Famer was diagnosed with cancer in February. He wasn’t experiencing symptoms, but bloodwork results prompted a visit to a urologist. After several tests, a biopsy detected cancer.
Extra innings: Lucas Giolito matched his career high of 13 K’s in seven innings, Tim Anderson hit his fourth HR of the series, and the White Sox beat visiting Tigers 5-0 to complete their first four-game sweep of the AL Central rivals in 15 years. Giolito (2-2) allowed three hits and one walk to earn the victory, as the White Sox completed a 5-2 homestand with its fifth straight win. The right-hander also struck out 13 against A’s on Aug. 11, 2019 . ... Clayton Kershaw struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings, Cody Bellinger homered for the second straight game and the Dodgers beat the host Mariners 6-1. Kershaw moved past Don Drysdale and into second place on the Dodgers’ alltime strikeout list. Kershaw now has 2,493 and trails only Don Sutton in franchise history. Sutton has 2,696 . ... Phillies reliever Jose Alvarez was carted off the field after being struck in the groin by a line drive during the first game of a doubleheader against the host Blue Jays, who won the game 3-2 and then took the nightcap 9-8 for their fifth win in a row.