Ohtani belts homer, but can’t stop Astros
Shohei Ohtani hit his majors-leading 44th home run, but got tagged early by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and the Astros in host Houston’s 10-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Ohtani (9-2) had been 8-0 in 13 starts since May 28 before Friday and gave himself a lead when he hit a solo homer in the first inning.
But the two-way sensation yielded six runs on a career-high nine hits in 31⁄3 innings. Altuve and Bregman combined to go 5-for-5 against Ohtani.
Bregman, who had four RBIs, Altuve and Carlos Correa each had three hits.
Bregman, who extended his hit streak to 10 games, had an RBI single as part of a three-run third and a two-run double as part of a six-run fourth as the Astros built a 9-4 lead. He also had a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Ohtani was chased in the fourth, an inning that included Kyle Tucker reaching on a catcher’s interference against Kurt Suzuki with the bases loaded and a two-run single by Aledmys Diaz.
Framber Valdez (10-5) allowed four earned runs on six hits with five walks and six strikeouts in five innings.
Ohtani’s homer was the first home run to a lefthanded hitter that Valdez has allowed this season. Mariners 5, D’backs 4: Tom Murphy homered twice and Marco Gonzales (8-5) allowed three runs, none earned, for host Seattle.
Rockies 11, Phillies 2: Elias Diaz hit a grand slam, German Marquez pitched six shutout innings and visiting Colorado continued to hurt Philadelphia’s playoff chances.
Orioles 6, Blue Jays 3: Host Baltimore jumped on Toronto starter Robbie Ray for homers by Cedric Mullins and Ryan McKenna in a three-run first inning, then got a three-run tie-breaking homer from Anthony Santander in the seventh.
White Sox 4, Red Sox 3: Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer and Carlos Rodon pitched five effective innings on extended rest for host Chicago.
Reds 4, Cardinals 2: Jose Barrero made the most of an unexpected start by doubling in the tie-breaking run in the ninth inning for visiting Cincinnati.
Brewers 10, Indians 3: Lorenzo Cain hit a grand slam to cap a six-run fifth inning, Eduardo Escobar homered from both sides of the plate and visiting Milwaukee moved closer to the NL Central title.
Mets 10, Yankees 3: Rookie Tylor Megill struck out a careerhigh 10 in a career-long seven innings and the Mets took advantage of a string of mental and physical mistakes by the reeling Yankees to rout their Bronx rival at Citi Field.
Tigers 10, Rays 4: Jonathan Schoop hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and Victor Reyes added a three-run shot an inning later for host Detroit. Miguel Cabrera had nine straight hits for Detroit before his string ended. Tampa Bay rookie Wander Franco extended his on-base streak to 39 games, then exited in the first inning because of tightness in his right hamstring.
Braves 6, Marlins 2: Jorge Soler had a two-run single during a five-run fifth inning, and Ian Anderson tied a career high with nine strikeouts for host Atlanta.
Pirates 4, Nationals 3: Ke’Bryan Hayes capped off a rally in the ninth inning with an RBI single as host Pittsburgh slipped past Washington. Hayes completed a two-run comeback by sending a pitch from Washington reliever Alberto Baldonado to right field, scoring Ben Gamel from third for the first walk-off hit of his career.
Royals 6, Twins 4: Andrew Benintendi had four hits and two home runs, the last a two-run shot in the 11th inning, to send visiting Kansas City past Minnesota. Benintendi had five RBIs in his second multi-homer game of the season in Minnesota. He has driven in 11 runs in his past three games.