Royals get seventh straight victory, sweep the Astros
Bobby Witt Jr. had four hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs and the Kansas City Royals used a nine-run first inning to defeat the Houston Astros 13-3 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep and extend their winning streak to seven games.
Vinnie Pasquantino, who came into Wednesday's game hitting .108 with no RBIs, was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and now is hitting .222 with eight RBIs.
The Royals completed a perfect seven-game homestand against the White Sox and Astros. It's just the third time in franchise history they've played at least seven games on a homestand without a loss. The other two: seven games in 1988 and eight games in 1985, the year they won their first World Series.
Brady Singer (2-0) allowed one run and five hits in five innings.
Hunter Brown (0-2) got only two outs, but allowed nine runs and 11 hits.
The Royals sent 15 men to the plate in the first inning, tying a club record with 11 hits in the inning (also set in 1986 and 2006). It was the second straight game they've batted around in an inning, sending 11 men to the plate in a sevenrun inning Wednesday night. METS 16, BRAVES 4 >> DJ Stewart hit a two-run homer in New York's four-run third inning and pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor hit a ninth-inning grand slam to cap the rout as the Mets beat Atlanta.
Jose Quintana (1-1) gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Jeff McNeil drove in three runs with two hits in the best game of the season for the Mets' bats. New York set season highs for runs and with 16 hits.
Stewart's homer, which gave the Mets a 7-0 lead, was his second of the series. The designated hitter had no hits this season before hitting a tworun homer in the Mets' 8-7 win in the series opener on Monday night.
ORIOLES 9, RED SOX 4, 10 INNINGS >> Colton Cowser hit the first two homers of his career, including a three-run shot in the 10th inning, and Baltimore rallied past Boston to complete a three-game sweep of its AL East rival.
Gunnar Henderson opened the Orioles' six-run 10th with a two-run homer against Isaiah Campbell (0-1), scoring automatic runner Jackson Holliday.
The 20-year-old Holliday, baseball's top-rated prospect who made his big league debut a night earlier, scored two runs but went 0-for-4 for the second straight game.
Cowser, another Orioles prospect who struggled during a brief stint in the majors last season, drove in 10 runs in the series.
PHILLIES 5, PIRATES 1 >> Ranger Suárez struck out eight over six shutout innings, Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott hit two-run homers and Alec Bohm also went deep to lead Philadelphia past Pittsburgh.
The Phillies entered the game with just three players in the starting lineup hitting above .240, while two — including All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos — were below .170.
Bohm — who had no homers this season after hitting 20 last season — socked his first off Pirates starter Jared Jones over the outstretched glove of centerfielder Michael A. Taylor for a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. In the seventh, Marsh hit a two-run homer — after a brief review overturned a double call — to chase Jones. Stott also hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot later in the inning off reliever Colin Holderman for a 5-0 lead. ATHLETICS 1, RANGERS 0 >> JP Sears carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and combined with three relievers on a one-hitter, Seth Brown homered to supply the game's only run and Oakland beat Texas.
Sears (1-1) allowed leadoff walks in the first, second and fifth innings before Adolis García ended the no-hit bid by lining a one-out single to left field in the seventh on an 0-2 sweeper. The 28-year-old lefthander was was then pulled after throwing 88 pitches. He struck out five, including 2023 World Series MVP Corey Seager three times.*