Astros, A’s clear benches, empty seats; Oakland wins 9th in row

OAKLAND, Calif. — Benches cleared and even the stands emptied during Oakland’s 7-2 victory over the Astros on Sunday, tempers flaring at last between the AL West rivals months after Houston’s sign-stealing scandal was brought to light by Oakland pitcher Mike Fiers.

The Athletics’ ninth straight win was far overshadowed by what erupted in the seventh inning at the Coliseum.

Oakland’s Ramon Laureano got hit by a pitch — for the third time in the three-game series — this one by Humberto Castellanos with one out in the seventh. Laureano began exchanging words with animated Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron, then left first base, threw down his batting helmet and began sprinting toward him.

Astros catcher Dustin Garneau tackled Laureano before the A’s outfielder reached Cintron, and a wild scene ensued.

Players rushed out of both dugouts to join the fray. A’s and Astros players who were sitting in the seats, observing COVID-19 social-distancing protocols, also rushed onto the field.

Laureano was ejected by plate ump Ted Barrett, and the umpiring crew could easily be heard yelling at the players to “get back to the dugout!” through a ballpark with no fans.

Oakland batters were hit five times during the

series, no Houston hitters were plunked.

A’s catcher Austin Allen was also ejected and Astros manager Dusty Baker was tossed a half inning earlier. Houston lost its fifth in a row overall.

The A’s (12-4) matched the 2013 club for the best record after 16 games over the last 30 years.

A’s rookie left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-0) earned his first major league win in his second career start. His day was done after allowing back-to-back two-out walks in the sixth.

Rangers 7, Angels 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — Los Angeles right fielder Jo Adell was charged with a rare four-base error when a fly ball from Texas’ Nick Solak popped out of the rookie’s glove and flew the few remaining feet over the fence in the Rangers’ win.

The play was initially ruled a home run for Solak, but the official scorer changed it to an error after consulting with the Elias Sports Bureau. Elias said it wasn’t aware of any precedent for a four-base error on a ball that went over the fence.

Solak, who had two hits and scored three runs, lifted a deep but fairly routine fly to right with two outs in the fifth inning. Adell struggled to track the ball but was under it several feet from the wall when he reached for it with his gloved left hand.

Once he realized what happened, Adell put his hands over his head and stared toward the retractable roof in the Rangers’ new $1.2 billion stadium. The fourth big league game for the Angels’ top prospect was a rough one. He also struck out all four times up as Texas completed a three-game sweep.

Lance Lynn earned his 100th career win, losing a shutout on Tommy La Stella’s two-run homer in the fifth. The right-hander’s ERA ended up at 1.16 after he came in with a major league-leading 0.49 mark.

Rays 4, Yankees 3

ST. PETERSBURG. Fla. — Michael Perez had an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay rallied late to beat the New York Yankees.

Mike Brosseau started the ninth with a double off Zack Britton (0-1) but was thrown out at third on Brandon Lowe’s grounder. Lowe advanced to second on a wild pitch before Manuel Margot walked.

After both runners advanced on Willy Adames grounder to first, Perez lined a single to right as the Rays took three of four from the AL East leaders.

Brosseau and Lowe both homered in the seventh, when the Rays tied it at 3.

Ryan Thompson (1-0) worked a perfect ninth for his first major league win.

Yankees starter James Paxton took a one-hitter into the seventh before allowing a leadoff double to Jose Martinez. Paxton gave up three runs and four hits and struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings.

Braves 5, Phillies 2,

1st game Braves 8, Phillies 0,

2nd game

PHILADELPHIA — Ronald Acuna Jr. homered twice and Freddie Freeman also went deep to spoil Spencer Howard’s big league debut and lead Atlanta to a doubleheader sweep of Philadelphia.

Acuna also homered in Atlanta’s 5-2 victory in the first game. He had four hits in the second game and added his his fourth career multihomer game.

The Phillies had waited since the restart to send Howard (0-1) to the mound and show why MLB. com had him ranked as the 36th top prospect in the minor leagues.

His first inning was fine, striking out Marcell Ozuna swinging on a nasty 85 mph slider that had a gaggle of Phillies fans outside the ballpark blowing air horns and banging cowbells in delight. The 24-year-old Howard, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, flashed more poise and promise in a neat 13-pitch second inning.

Freeman, though, hit a two-run homer in the third for the early lead and Acuna had a solo shot to the opposite field in right for a 3-0 lead. Howard struck out Ozuna in the fifth, and the designated hitter snapped his bat after he slammed it in frustration.

Howard allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Atlanta’s Max Fried (3-0) was fantastic in his first three starts of the season (2.04 ERA with 15 strikeouts) and hummed along against the Phillies until he loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth.

Mets 4, Marlins 2

NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom dodged trouble for five innings, rookie Andrés Giménez had three hits and scored three runs, and the New York Mets won a home series for the first time this season by beating Miami.

DeGrom (2-0) allowed two runs and seven hits, marking the

25th time in his past 27 starts he permitted three runs or fewer. He struck out six, walked two and threw 98 pitches.

Winner of the last two NL Cy Young Awards, deGrom had an issue with the middle finger on his right hand during a 32-pitch second inning. He loaded the bases on two walks and an infield single, and a trainer briefly examined him.

After getting checked out, deGrom fanned Monte Harrison and retired Jonathan Villar.

Jesus Aguilar hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the Marlins, who lost their second straight after getting off to a 7-1 start despite

18 players testing positive for the coronavirus. Aguilar hit deGrom’s fastball to left field and then picked up his own bat after crossing the plate.

DeGrom had a runner on base in each inning on a sun-splashed day in which his fastball velocity was slightly lower than his first three starts. His fastball averaged 98.7 mph through his first three starts, and Sunday his 44 fourseam fastballs averaged 98.1 mph.

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3

BOSTON — Mitch Moreland hit two home runs, including a walk-off shot over the Green Monster to send Boston past Toronto.

It was the fourth walk-off home run of Moreland’s career and first since Aug. 4, 2017, against the Chicago White Sox.

Xander Bogaerts drew a twoout walk from Thomas Hatch (0-1) to set up Moreland’s game-winner. Matt Barnes (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.

The Blue Jays now head to Buffalo, New York, where they’ll play their remaining home games at the site of their Triple-A affiliate across the Niagara River from Canada.

Rafael Devers also homered for the Red Sox.

Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi went six innings, allowing three runs and six hits, including two home runs. But he got good backup from his bullpen, which held the Blue Jays hitless and scoreless the rest of the game.