AROUND THE HORN
▪ Astros: After falling behind early on, the Astros chipped away at the Royals’ lead before one mighty swing by Yordan Alvarez completed the club’s biggest comeback win of the season. Alvarez homered with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Astros beat the Royals 7-6 on Monday in Houston for their seventh straight victory. “Nobody in the dugout gives up throughout the game ... even if we’re losing like that,” Alvarez said. Led by Kyle Tucker and Alvarez, the AL Westleading Astros erased a five-run deficit on the way to their 15th victory in their last 18 games. Tucker sparked the Astros’ threerun eighth with a two-run single, and Alvarez hit a drive to left-center against Scott Barlow (2-2) for his 24th homer. Ryne Stanek (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win. The Astros also won in their last at-bat Sunday, using Jeremy Peña’s tiebreaking two-run homer with two out in the ninth to post a 4-2 victory over the Angels. It’s the first time the Astros have had consecutive last at-bat wins on home runs since Mark Loretta and Carlos Lee on June 28-29, 2007, against the Rockies. Andrew Benintendi had three hits and two RBIs for the Royals. MJ Melendez hit two solo homers. “It’s one of the tougher ones of the season . ... You like the chances of us being able to finish that off,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said.
▪ Blue Jays: The 17-yearold daughter of Blue Jays first base coach Mark Budzinski died in a boating accident in Virginia over the weekend, authorities said. Julia Budzinski was one of two girls who fell off a tube being pulled behind a boat on the James River in Richmond on Saturday, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources spokesperson Paige Pearson said. As the boat operator returned to get the girls out of the water, the boat hit a wave, causing it to be pushed on top of Budzinski and striking her with the propeller, Pearson said. No foul play is suspected and alcohol wasn’t a factor. “It was a terrible accident,” she said. Mark Budzinski left the Jays in the third inning of the second game of the team’s doubleheader against the Rays on Saturday after learning of his daughter’s death. The Jays later issued a statement saying he would take some time away from the team to grieve with his family. There was a moment of silence for Julia Budzinski before Sunday’s series finale.
▪ Extra innings: Trevor Story hit a solo HR, Kutter Crawford pitched 5 ⅓ innings of two-hit relief and the Red Sox won their eighth straight Fourth of July game, beating the visiting Rays 4-0. The Red Sox matched their franchise record for consecutive July 4 wins, accomplished from 1901-04 and 1936-39, when teams played doubleheaders . ... Jorge Mateo limped to first base when Matt Moore hit him near the left knee with the bases loaded in the 10th, and the host Orioles reached the season’s halfway point by coming from behind late to beat the Rangers 7-6. Rookie Adley Rutschman, who began the day in an 0-for-18 skid, tied the score against Joe Barlow with a two-out RBI double in the ninth that hit off the right-field wall. The Orioles are 23-20 following a 14-24 start.