UNDATED (AP) — The New York Yankees’ bullpen had another ninth-inning meltdown that cost them a three-game road sweep of the Houston Astros.
Jose Altuve belted a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth, sending the Astros past the Yanks, 8-7.
New York led 7-2 after a three-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the eighth inning, but Houston started its winning rally by putting the first two batters on base against Domingo German. Chas McCormick hit a two-run double off Chad Green and Abraham Toro followed with an RBI double to make it 7-5 with no out before Altuve went deep.
Elsewhere on Sunday’s major league schedule:
— Ronald Torreyes belted a three-run homer and the Phillies used six pitchers in a 5-4 triumph over the Red Sox. The game became a bullpen day for the Phillies after they had to scratch starter Aaron Nola and place the right-hander and three teammates on COVID-19-related injured reserve. Torreyes had three of Philadelphia’s six hits and J.T. Realmuto had an RBI single in the third.
— Matt Olson prepped for Monday’s Home Run Derby by hitting two of Oakland’s four homers in a 4-1 victory over the Rangers. Jed Lowrie and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the second inning for the A’s, who won consecutive games for the first time since mid-June. Chris Bassitt is 10-2 after limiting Texas to a run and four hits over seven innings.
— The White Sox completed a seven-game season sweep of the Orioles by getting a three-run homer from Adam Engel in the 10th inning of a 7-5 victory at Baltimore. Andrew Vaughn homered twice for the White Sox, who have won five in a row and 10 of 13 overall. It is the first time in franchise history Chicago has swept a season series of at least seven games against any team.
— Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending three-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Twins a 12-9 victory and a four-game sweep of the Tigers. Catcher Jake Rogers had given the Tigers a 9-8 lead with a grand slam in the top of the ninth, but Twins catcher Ben Rortvedt tied it with a solo shot in the bottom half. Polanco had three hits and five RBIs, while Alex Kiriloff and Max Kepler each had two hits and drove in two runs.
— The Rays’ six-game winning streak is over after Robbie Ray took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the Blue Jays’ 3-1 victory over Tampa. Ray’s no-hit bid ended with one out when Yandy Díaz was awarded a double after a fan reached over the left-field fence and tried to catch his drive. Ray allowed just the one hit over seven innings and joined Mets ace Jacob deGrom as the only hurlers with nine games of at least nine strikeouts this season.
— David Fletcher extended his hitting streak to 24 games by delivering four hits and four RBIs in the Angels’ 7-1 trouncing of the Mariners. Fletcher homered in the third inning, drove in two runs with a single in the fifth and added another RBI in the seventh to snap the Angels’ two-game losing streak. Shohei Ohtani went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk ahead of his big two days at Coors Field in Denver.
— Nick Castellanos smacked a tiebreaking, two-run single off All-Star closer Josh Hader with two out in the ninth inning to give the Reds a 3-1 win at Milwaukee. Hader came in to pitch the ninth after he surrendered a game-winning homer to Eugenio Suárez on Saturday. Cincinnati trails the NL Central-leading Brewers by four games after taking three of four in the series.
— The Pirates stormed back from a 5-0 deficit and beat the Mets on Wilmer Difo’s RBI single in the ninth. It was Pittsburgh’s largest comeback of the season as Rodolfo Castro and Michael Perez hit back-to-back solo home runs before Castro added a two-run blast in the sixth. The NL East-leading Mets had to settle for a four-game split despite a two-run homer by Francisco Lindor and a three-run shot by Michael Conforto, both in the first inning.
— Marlins right-hander Pablo López set a major league record by striking out the first nine batters to start a game, leading a 7-4 decision over the Braves. López gave up three runs in six innings and failed to fan a batter over his final three frames. Jesus Aguilar smacked a three-run homer in the first inning as the Marlins ended a three-game losing streak.
— Kevin Gausman worked six-plus innings of one-run ball and Curt Casali hit a three-run homer as the Giants topped the Nationals, 3-1 for a three-game sweep. struck out nine and held Washington to four hits as he lowered his ERA to 1.73, second only to Mets ace Jacob deGrom among all big league hurlers. San Francisco heads into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors at 57-32, a huge surprise for a team that wasn’t expected to contend in the NL West.
— The Dodgers took a 7-4 decision over the Diamondbacks on Max Muncy’s three-run, walk-off homer in the ninth inning. The Dodgers tied the game at 4 with three runs in the eighth and stayed two games behind the NL West-leading Giants. Mookie Betts also homered for Los Angeles.
— Pinch-hitter Chris Owings hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning to power the Rockies past the Padres, 3-1. Owings’ homer off Craig Stammen made a winner of Jon Gray, who has pitched well in four starts since a stint on the injured list with a right flexor strain. Gray held the Padres to one run and three hits in six innings.
— The Indians and Royals were rained out in Cleveland, creating a double-header slated for September 20.
— Rain caused the Cubs and Cardinals to be postponed in Chicago. The game will be made up as part of a September 24 twinbill.
