Astros beat Tigers, extend winning streak to six
HOUSTON » Jose Altuve homered early, and Michael Brantley tripled in a two-run eighth to help the Houston Astros run their winning streak to a season-best six games with an 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
The win was manager Dusty Baker’s 2,004th, passing Bruce Bochy (2,003) for 11th on the all-time list.
The Astros trailed 2-1 in the eighth when Altuve singled with one out and scored on a triple by Brantley to tie it. The Tigers intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez with two outs before Michael Fulmer (1-1) walked Yuli Gurriel to load the bases. Another walk to Kyle Tucker scored Brantley to put Houston up 3-2.
Miguel Cabrera doubled in the third inning to join Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols as the only players in
MLB history to have at least 3,000 hits, 500 homers and 600 doubles in their careers.
WHITE SOX 3, RED SOX 1 » José Abreu hit a go-ahead double in the 10th after Chicago tied it an inning earlier, helping the White Sox beat Boston for their fifth straight win.
Leury García had two singles and a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth for the White Sox (13-13), who reached .500 for the first time since April 21.
Rafael Devers had an RBI double for Boston, which has lost 13 of 17. The Red Sox have lost six straight series.
BLUE JAYS 8, GUARDIANS 3 » George Springer and Raimel Tapia each drove in three runs in the first four innings against Shane Bieber, powering Toronto past Cleveland in the first game of a doubleheader.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (3-1) worked 6.1 innings and allowed one run, striking out five.
Toronto scored four runs in the second and three in the fourth off 2020 AL Cy Young winner Bieber (1-2), who gave up a career-hightying seven runs in 3.1 innings. He did not have a strikeout for the first time in 86 career starts and 88 total appearances.
TWINS 1, ATHLETICS 0 » Jorge Polanco homered in the sixth inning and four Minnesota pitchers made it stand up, sending Oakland to its eighth straight loss.
Minnesota pitchers combined to strike out 15 while allowing just three hits.
Polanco had three of Minnesota’s five hits. Griffin Jax (2-0) earned the win with 1.2 innings in relief.
DODGERS 7, CUBS 0 » Clayton Kershaw dominated over seven innings and Los Angeles beat Chicago in the opener of a doubleheader.
Freddie Freeman doubled three times and scored twice, helping the NL West leaders win for the 16th time in 21 games. Austin Barnes homered and drove in three runs.
Kershaw (4-0) gave up five hits, struck out two and walked one, combining with two relievers on Los Angeles’ third shutout of the season. REDS 9, PIRATES 2 » Pittsburgh emergency catcher Josh VanMeter had a rough time in his first try behind the plate since he was a teenager, and Cincinnati took advantage to end a nine-game losing streak in the opener of a doubleheader.
Pirates starting catcher Roberto Pérez was helped off the field with a left hamstring injury after falling while rounding second base in the top of the eighth. Backup catcher Andrew Knapp had been ejected in the bottom of the sixth.