Yainer Diaz hit a three-run homer in the first inning off a struggling Luis Severino, Yordan Alvarez homered in the fifth to hit the right-hander knockout, and the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Friday night.
Rookie Hunter Brown (8-7) won consecutive starts for the first time since April, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. Brown struckout four, walked one and got eight groundouts – three on the first pitch.
“That’s a big win for us,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said.
Including last year’s sweep in the ALCS, the Astros are 10-3 against the Yankees since the start of last season. Houston also improved to 13-7 since the All-Star break and 7-4 in a run of eight of nine series against opponents with winning records.
Aaron Judge was kept out of the starting lineup for the second time since returning from a toe injury last week.
The loss dropped the Yankees to 57–53 on the season.
Yordan Alvarez of the Astros runs the bases after hitting a home run in the fifth inning on Friday
Luis Severino (left) continued his battle, giving up five earned runs in just four innings
Houston has 10 of the last 13 vs. the Yankees won, giving Jose Altuve (left) a lot to smile about
ROYALS 7, PHILLIES 5
Bobby Witt Jr. homered and stole a base, Michael Massey also went deep and Kansas City defeated Philadelphia for its seventh straight win.
Witt became the first player in MLB history with at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in each of his first two seasons. Dairon Blanco batted in three runs and stole three bases for Kansas City.
Nick Castellanos homered for the Phillies, who opened a 10-game homestand. Philadelphia began play with the second wild card spot in a tightly packed playoff race.
Dairon Blanco of the Royals hits a two-run single against the Phillies on Friday in a 7-5 win
Michael Massey (right) of the Royals reacts after hitting a home run during the sixth inning
BRAVES 8, CUBS 0
Max Fried dominated for six innings in his return from a strained left forearm, Sean Murphy and Marcell Ozuna homered on back-to-back pitches in Atlanta’s seven-run fourth inning and the Braves cooled off Chicago.
Fried allowed three baserunners, all on basehits, on his first start since May 5
Austin Riley added a deep solo shot in the seventh for major league-leading Atlanta, which has won three straight and six of seven. Fried (3-1), a runner-up of the NL Cy Young Award last season, struckout eight batters before retiring after 72 pitches.
RAYS 8, TIGERS 0
Jose Siri homered to drive in three runs, Zack Littell won his second start in a row and Tampa Bay defeated Detroit.
Littell (2-2) gave up three hits and a walk in six innings.
Harold Ramírez had three hits and scored twice, and former Tiger Isaac Paredes had two hits and two RBIs. The Rays won for the fourth time in five games.
Tampa Bay Rays midfielder Jose Siri (22) hits a two-run home run in the second inning
NATIONALS 6, CUBS 3 (10 INNINGS)
Lane Thomas hit his second homer of the game in the 10th inning to seal the Washington Nationals’ 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Thomas’s two-run shot, his team-leading 18th of the season, closed in on Alexis Díaz (3-3) and followed a runscoring double by Jake Alu that broke a 3-3 tie.
A two-run homer by Joey Meneses off Reds starter Graham Ashcraft tied the score in the eighth. The Reds led since the first inning behind strong pitching by Ashcraft and three solo home runs.
ORIOLES 10, METS 3
James McCann had three hits and five RBIs and Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer to help Baltimore defeat the Mets in the return of New York manager Buck Showalter to Camden Yards.
Showalter received a video tribute and standing ovation from the fans in Baltimore, where he succeeded from 2010-2018, leading the Orioles to three postseason appearances. Then the AL East leaders won for the sixth time in eight games to stay two ahead of Tampa Bay.
Ryan O’Hearn hit an RBI single off Phil Bickford (2-4) to break a 2-all tie in the sixth – Westburg, running onto the field, scored all the way from first. McCann added a two-run double later in the inning and Adley Rutschman hit a sac-fly.
Mets manager Buck Showalter was honored by the Orioles before his old team won 10-3
GUARDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 2
Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer among his three career extra-base hits, Logan Allen scored his first home win in over three months, and Cleveland defeated Chicago.
Giménez committed an error on the first two pitches of his at bat in the fifth inning, trying to bunt and bring Steven Kwan to second base. He then swung away and sent a fastball from Mike Clevinger (4-5) into the right field bleachers to break a 2-all tie.
Allen (5-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, breaking a six-start winless streak at Progressive Field. The left-hander, who struckout five and walked four, had not won at home since playing six innings in his major league debut against Miami on April 23.
BLUE JAYS 7, RED SOX 3
Davis Schneider homered in his first major league at bat and Toronto tied with five home runs to beat Boston.
Whit Merrifield, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho and Matt Chapman also went deep to help the Blue Jays extend their lead over Boston for the third and final AL wild card spot.
Toronto starter Alek Manoah (3-8) threw 6 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs and struckout five batters.
Daulton Varsho (right) of the Blue Jays celebrates his solo home run with George Springer
RANGERS 6, MARLINS 2
Adolis García hit two drastically different solo homers, Corey Seager also went deep, and newly acquired southpaw Jordan Montgomery worked into the seventh inning to help Texas beat Miami.
Garcia put the Rangers ahead to stay when he went the opposite way with a high arc of 334 feet just inside the rightfield post for a 3–2 lead in the third. In the sixth, the slugger known as ‘El Bombi’ hit a 133-yard ride that landed on the second deck with seats over the visitors’ left-center bullpen.
Montgomery struckout six batters, walked one and gave up two runs before stranding two batters in the seventh inning.
GEMINI 3, DIAMONDS 2
Michael A. Taylor homered to lead off the seventh inning, Minnesota’s third solo shot of the game in the win over Arizona.
Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler went deep against Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, who otherwise went through six innings with nine strikeouts.
Taylor greeted Scott McGough (1-7) with an opposing field drive of a 1-2 fastball into the window boxes above the limestone facade behind right field that put the Twins in front.
The Twins’ Michael A. Taylor hits a homer against the Diamondbacks to put his team ahead
PIRATES 8, BREWERS 4
Alfonso Rivas had a three-run homer and a triple among his three hits to lead Pittsburgh past Milwaukee.
Rivas played his second game for the Pirates since being acquired from San Diego on Tuesday.
Bryan Reynolds also went 3 for 5 with a homer, and Henry Davis and Josh Palacios also went deep for the Pirates. Palacios and Reynolds hit back-to-back homers off Bryse Wilson in the sixth inning to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 8–3.
ROCKIES 9, CARDINALS 4
Nolan Jones had four hits and three RBIs as Colorado defeated St. Louis in a matchup of last place clubs.
Elias Díaz had two hits and drove in two runs, as Colorado won for only the third time in nine games. The Rockies finished with 15 hits.
Nolan Gorman hit two solo homers for St. Louis, which has dropped six of eight.
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