UNDATED (AP) — The Houston Astros have added another half-game to their lead in the American League West by earning a comeback win over the Kansas City Royals.
Alex Bregman had two hits and one RBI before scoring the winning run in the 10th inning of the Astros’ 6-5 victory. Bregman came home on a groundout by Jake Meyers to give Houston the rubber match of the three-game set.
Bregman was activated just before the game after missing two months with a strained left quadriceps.
Pinch-hitter Michael Brantley’s RBI single with two out in the eighth inning tied it at 5. Martín Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez hit solo homers to help Houston withstand Whit Merrifield’s grand slam in the seventh, which gave the Royals a 5-3 lead.
The Astros pace their division by five games over the idle Oakland Athletics.
Checking out Wednesday’s other major league action:
— Robbie Ray matched his career high by striking out 14 over seven innings of the Blue Jays’ 3-1 victory against the White Sox. Alejandro Kirk broke a tie with an RBI single in the eighth inning before Toronto handed the AL Central leaders their fourth loss in five games. White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson went 0 for 4 in his return after missing the past four games because of tightness in both hamstrings.
— Francisco Mejia hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning to send the Rays to their eighth win in nine games, 7-4 over the Phillies. Brandon Lowe belted his 30th home run of the season and rookie Wander Franco had two hits to extend his on-base streak to 26 straight games for Tampa Bay. The AL East-leading Rays dealt the Phils their sixth loss in eight games and moved 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees.
— The Twins blew a two-run lead in the ninth before Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer leading off the 10th inning of their 9-6 verdict over the Red Sox. Donaldson and Jorge Polanco homered for the second straight game, and Miguel Sanó hit a 495-foot homer that is the longest in the majors this year. Kyle Schwarber’s two-run homer off Alex Colomé tied it in the ninth before Boston’s lead for the second AL wild card dropped to 1 1/2 games over the A’s.
— Brandon Crawford hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning of the Giants’ 21st win in their last 28 games, 3-2 over the Mets. San Francisco turned five double plays and won the game when closer Jake McGee got Pete Alonso to pop out with the bases loaded. Kris Bryant homered off Taijuan Walker, who was pulled in the seventh despite allowing only two hits and throwing just 74 pitches.
— AJ Pollock led off the 16th inning with a two-run homer and the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers beat the struggling San Diego Padres 5-3 in by far the longest major league game since pandemic rules were implemented last year. It was the first game to go more than 13 innings since MLB adopted the automatic runner on second in extra frames for the 2020 season.
— Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and scored the game-ending run on Lars Nootbaar’s single in the 10th inning of the Cardinals’ 3-2 decision over the Tigers. St. Louis starter Jon Lester allowed one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings. The Redbirds were one out from a 2-1 victory until Miguel Cabrera doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Harold Castro’s soft single.
— The Brewers’ lead in the NL Central is up to 9 1/2 games after Brandon Woodruff fanned 10 over six innings of their 4-1 decision over the second-place Reds. Woodruff permitted only four hits and retired 13 straight batters during one stretch. Avisaíl García hit an RBI double and made two big defensive plays in right field to help Milwaukee win for the 12th time in its last 15 games.
— The Orioles’ 19-game losing streak is over after they turned a 6-2 deficit into a 10-6 victory over the Angels. Ramón Urías and Kelvin Gutierrez drew bases-loaded walks to put the Orioles up 7-6, just before pinch-hitter Austin Hays added a two-run double. Angels ace Shohei Ohtani allowed three homers on the mound and struck out three times at the plate before leaving the game in the sixth inning.
— Franmil Reyes drove a 451-foot home run into the left field bleachers, one of four solo homers hit by the Indians in a 7-2 thumping of the Rangers. Yu Chang homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs to help Zach Plesac improve to 8-4. Óscar Mercado and Austin Hedges also homered off left-hander Jake Latz, who gave up three home runs in his major league debut.
— The Marlins ended an eight-game skid by topping the Nationals 4-3 on Jorge Alfaro’s walk-off single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning. Josh Bell and Yadiel Hernández homered in a three-run seventh that erased a 2-0 deficit for Washington in the major league debut of touted prospect Edward Cabrera. The Miami starter limited the Nationals to two hits through the first six innings.
— Patrick Wisdom slammed a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the fifth inning to send the Cubs past the Rockies, 5-2 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The 29-year-old Wisdom has hit 21 home runs this season after belting just four in 48 games over his first three major league seasons. David Bote and Austin Romine also homered for Chicago, which has won two straight at Wrigley Field since a team-record 13-game home losing streak.
— The Rockies gained a split of the twinbill as Ryan McMahon lofted a two-run homer in the 10th inning of a wild 13-10 victory against the Cubs. Brendan Rodgers followed with a two-run double that gave him five RBIs for the game. Connor Joe hit his first career grand slam in the fourth inning to put Colorado ahead 6-5.
— Arizona’s Carson Kelly and Pavin Smith hit solo home runs against the Pirates’ bullpen for a 5-2 victory. Kelly’s homer came in the seventh off Anthony Banda and put the Diamondbacks ahead for good. DBacks starter Tyler Gilbert worked five innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
