UNDATED (AP) — The Houston Astros have continued their surge by knocking off the American League’s worst team.
The Astros picked up their ninth straight win by topping the Orioles, 3-1 in Baltimore. Zack Greinke allowed one run and five hits with four strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings to improve to 8-2.
Myles Straw hit a solo shot in the second inning and singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh. Chas McCormick added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
In other major league action:
— Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano hit two-run home runs in the first two innings of the Athletics’ 13-6 rout of the Rangers. Oakland rapped out a season-high 15 hits, with Laureano, Mark Canha and former Rangers All-Star Elvis Andrus providing three apiece. Winning pitcher Cole Irvin cruised through four scoreless innings on 40 pitches before allowing four runs on four hits and a hit batter in the fifth.
— Wander Franco hit a three-run homer and doubled in his big league debut, but the Rays allowed four runs in the 11th inning of their seventh consecutive loss, 9-5 to the Red Sox. Franco connected in the fifth off Eduardo Rodriguez and drew his first curtain call in the majors. Rafael Devers) hit a hard grounder that went between the legs of first baseman Yandy Díaz for a two-run double that put Boston ahead to stay.
— The Royals rallied for four runs in the eighth inning to beat the Yankees, 6-5. Ryan O’Hearn, Jarrod Dyson, Hunter Dozier and Michael A. Taylor drove in runs in the eighth off Jonathan Loaisiga. Yankees starter Gerrit Cole allowed two runs and just three hits over seven innings, but his strikeouts and spin rate dropped as he pitched for the first time since MLB’s crackdown on sticky substances.
— Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled on consecutive pitches to break a ninth-inning tie and push the Blue Jays past the Marlins, 2-1. The hits came with one out against Yimi García who entered the game after Sandy Alcantara stymied the Blue Jays while throwing only 86 pitches in eight innings. MLB RBIs leader Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled home to help Toronto improve to 12-2 in interleague games.
— The Tigers hammered the Cardinals, 8-2 as Jonathan Schoop and Jake Rogers each drove in three runs. Schoop smacked a three-run homer and Rogers hit a two-run double in Detroit’s six-run fourth. Kyle Funkhouser was credited with the victory for 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
— Pinch-hitter Erik Gonzalez’s two-run single highlighted a four-run rally in the seventh inning of the Pirates’ 6-3 downing of the White Sox. Adam Frazier homered and Bryan Reynolds had two RBIs as Pittsburgh dealt Chicago its season-high fifth straight loss. A three-run homer by pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal in the top of the seventh put the White Sox ahead 3-2 after they were held scoreless on two hits.
— The Cubs cruised to a 7-1 thumping of the Indians as Kyle Hendricks dominated over six scoreless innings to win his eighth straight start. Hendricks allowed just four hits and extended the best winning streak of his career and the longest by a Cubs pitcher since Jake Arrieta won nine consecutive starts to bridge the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Patrick Wisdom went deep in Chicago’s third win in nine games.
— Tyler Naquin capped his 4-for-4 performance by ripping a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning of the Reds’ 10-7 win over the Twins in Minnesota. Tucker Barnhart homered and had three RBIs and Jesse Winker hit a two-run double for the Reds. The Twins stormed back from a 7-2 deficit with a five-run eighth against Cincinnati’s bullpen before ending a five-game winning streak.
— Charlie Morton earned his 100th career win by allowing one hit with 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings of the Braves’ 3-0 shutout of the Mets. Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer in the third for the Braves, who have won two of three in the four-game series from the Mets. New York’s decimated rotation took another hit in the second inning when Marcus Stroman exited with left hip soreness.
— Max Scherzer had to deal with three umpire checks for sticky substances while allowing one run while fanning eight over five innings of the Nationals’ 3-2 win over the Phillies. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles in Washington’s third straight win and eighth in its last nine games. Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins went deep for Philadelphia, which has lost five of seven.
