Springer dash, drive send Astros past Red Sox

HOUSTON — George Springer dashed home from second base on a wild pitch by Chris Sale, then homered off the Boston ace to send the Houston Astros over the Red Sox 7-3 Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.

Springer finished with three hits, and Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis homered late to boost the Astros.

Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers off Gerrit Cole (6-1) to start the fourth inning and get within 4-3. Moreland's homer was a towering shot to straightaway center field that hit the "H'' in the Astros' logo on the wall, while Martinez hit his major league-leading 19th homer.

Springer's sprint put the Astros ahead in the first inning. With runners at first and second and one out, Sale threw a hard slider that Correa swinging for strike three. But the ball bounced off catcher Sandy Leon's glove and caromed toward the first base dugout, and Springer hustled home on the wild pitch.

Springer hit his 12th home run in the third as Houston built a 4-1 lead.

Cole won his fourth straight decision, giving up three runs and five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven, raising his AL-leading total to 116.

Sale (5-3) lost his second in a row, allowing four runs in six innings. He struck out six, giving him 110 this season.

Correa, who entered Thursday's game in an 0-for-10 slump, homered for the second straight game against

Boston when he hit a solo drive in the eighth off Joe Kelly. It was just the second run Kelly had allowed in his last 24 outings and he'd retired 24 straight batters before the homer.

Kelly then walked Yuli Gurriel, and Gattis homered to left-center.

ATHLETICS 16, ROYALS 0 Matt Olson slugged two homers and drove in a career-high five runs, Frankie Montas pitched a career-best eight innings and the Oakland Athletics pounded out a victory over the Kansas City Royals. Dustin Fowler also homered twice and had four RBIs for Oakland, which leads the majors with 51 road home runs in 28 games. YANKEES 4, ORIOLES 1 Sonny Gray pitched six sharp innings, Aaron Judge homered and the New York Yankees breezed past the punchless Baltimore Orioles. Rookie Gleyber Torres had two hits and an RBI for the Yankees, who have won three straight to move a season-high 19 games over .500 (36-17). TWINS 7, INDIANS 4 Eduardo Escobar hit two homers and drove in four runs, Jose Berrios pitched six effective innings and the Minnesota Twins pulled away for a win against the Cleveland Indians. Escobar’s three-run homer in the first started the night against Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (6-4). Escobar added a solo shot, his 10th of the season, in the seventh as Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CUBS 7, METS 4 Kyle Schwarber entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning and wound up homering and driving in four runs as the Chicago Cubs rallied against a beleaguered Mets bullpen to defeat New York. The Cubs trailed 2-0 in the seventh before posting their fifth win in six games.

PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 0 Jameson Taillon pitched three-hit ball over eight innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals for their second win in their past seven games. Pittsburgh had lost three straight to St. Louis during a 3-10 stretch, mostly against NL Central opponents.

BRAVES 4, NATIONALS 0 Mike Foltynewicz pitched a two-hitter for his first career complete game, Dansby Swanson broke the game open with a three-run homer in the seventh and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals . Foltynewicz (5-3) retired 20 straight batters before issuing a leadoff walk in the eighth to outpitch Stephen Strasburg.