Houston clubs 7 HRS in 10-1 win over A’s
OAKLAND, Calif. — Yordan Alvarez hit two of Houston’s seven home runs, and the surging Astros beat Oakland 10-1 on Sunday to complete another series sweep and hand the Athletics their 11th consecutive loss.
Alvarez homered off opener Ken Waldichuk in the first, then had another solo blast off Garrett Acton in the ninth, right after Jeremy Peña went deep. It was the second multi-homer game this week by Alvarez and the 15th of his career.
Jose Altuve had three hits, including his first home run of the season after missing Houston’s first 43 games with a fractured right thumb. Jake Meyers had a go-ahead three-run blast in the fourth. Chas Mccormick and José Abreu added solo shots as the Astros won for the 14th time in 17 games.
The seven home runs are the most hit by any team in Coliseum history.
“We had a lot of fun today,” Mccormick said. “It was a good time.”
Few had as much fun as Abreu, who sprinted around the bases following his first home run since last Sept. 13, when he was still with the Chicago White Sox. Abreu signed with Houston as a free agent in November.
The Astros first baseman continued running as he crossed home plate, then slid underneath a pile of teammates gathered near the visitor’s dugout.
“Obviously it was a while since I hit a home run and I had to enjoy it,” Abreu said through a translator. “Life is about that. You have to enjoy those things.”
Cristian Javier (6-1) allowed one run and four hits in five uneven innings. The right-hander had three strikeouts and three walks and also picked off a runner.
Four Houston relievers combined for four scoreless innings to complete the win.
The victory, the 2,124th of manager Dusty Baker’s career, pulled the Astros within two games of division-leading Texas in the AL West.
Six of Houston’s runs came off five home runs in the final three innings.