May 6, 2021; Bronx, New York, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) hits a game winning three run home run against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Jose Altuve celebrated his 31st birthday by hitting a go-ahead three-run homer with one out in the eighth inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
The Astros salvaged the finale of the emotionally charged series thanks to Altuve, whose second hit of the day gave Houston a 5-3 lead.
The Astros had runners at first and third against Chad Green (0-3) when Altuve came up to another round of profane chants from the limited capacity crowd. After fouling off a fastball, the second baseman hammered a full-count fastball into the left-field seats.
It was Altuve’s second homer of the season and first since April 8 against Oakland.
Yordan Alvarez hit solo homers in consecutive at-bats off former Astros ace Gerrit Cole as the Astros snapped a three-game losing streak. Martin Maldonado added a two-run homer in the ninth.
Giancarlo Stanton homered for the second straight game in the third and Clint Frazier hit a two-run homer in the fourth, but the Yankees saw their winning streak halted at five games and lost for the fourth time in 14 games since falling to 6-11 on April 21.
Blue Jays 10, Athletics 4
Marcus Semien completed a homecoming with four hits, including a home run, and Randal Grichuk drove in five runs, three with a homer, as visiting Toronto salvaged a four-game split with Oakland.
Danny Jansen also homered for the Blue Jays, who were held to a total of five runs in two losses to open the series before exploding for 19 in two wins.
Mark Canha hit Hyun-Jin Ryu’s second pitch of the game for a home run, his fifth of the season, but things went pretty much downhill from there for the A’s, who lost for the fourth time in seven outings on their 10-game homestand.
Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 1
Adam Duvall hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, helping host Miami complete a sweep over Arizona.
Miguel Rojas also homered on a 2-for-4 night as his Marlins earned their first three-game home sweep since May 17-19, 2019, over the New York Mets.
The Diamondbacks, who have lost four of five, were led by starter Madison Bumgarner, who retired 17 consecutive batters but left with a no-decision. He went six innings, allowing just two hits, no walks and one run. He struck out seven, including five straight between the second and third innings.
Mets 4, Cardinals 1
Taijuan Walker allowed one hit and one run in seven innings to pitch visiting New York past St. Louis.
Walker (2-1) retired the last 18 batters he faced. He struck out eight and walked nobody as the Mets earned a split of the four-game series. The Mets drew 11 walks, including three with the bases loaded. But they kept the game close by leaving 17 runners on base.
Cardinals starting pitcher John Gant (2-3) walked six batters and allowed five hits in his 4 1/3 innings, but he escaped with just one earned run allowed.
Rangers 4, Twins 3 (10)
Willie Calhoun went 2-for-4 and singled in designated runner Jonah Heim with the winning run in the 10th inning to give Texas a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Joey Gallo and Heim each homered and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits and an RBI for Texas, which won three of the four games in the series and improved to 4-0 in extra-inning games.
Max Kepler homered and scored twice and Willians Astudillo went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Minnesota, which fell to 0-7 in extra-inning games. Nick Gordon singled and walked in his major league debut and also stole two bases, becoming only the 13th player since 1901 to have multiple stolen bases in a debut.
Phillies 2, Brewers 0
Zack Wheeler tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout and host Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep over Milwaukee.
Alec Bohm hit a solo home run, his fourth of the season, for the Phillies. Bryce Harper (face, left wrist) was sidelined for the seventh time in the last eight games for Philadelphia, currently in first place in the National League East. The Phillies last swept the Brewers in a four-game series from July 7-10, 2014.
Wheeler (3-2) struck out eight and walked none in 118 pitches. Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff (2-1) was stellar in 6 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out 11 and walking two. It was the seventh career game for Woodruff with at least 10 strikeouts.
Red Sox 12, Tigers 9
Franchy Cordero had three hits and reached on a fielding error in the eighth inning to allow the go-ahead run to score as host Boston outlasted Detroit.
Cordero’s two-out dribbler was misplayed by Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario. Alex Verdugo followed with a two-run single, two batters after pinch hitter Christian Vazquez tied the game at 9 with an RBI single.
Rafael Devers (2-for-5) drove in three runs and J.D. Martinez (2-for-6) had two RBIs and scored three runs for the Red Sox. Matt Andriese (1-1) earned the win after allowing a run on three hits in the eighth.
Braves 3, Nationals 2
Drew Smyly pitched into the seventh inning and visiting Atlanta defeated Washington.
Smyly (1-2) turned in his best outing of the young season for the Braves, going six-plus innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits. He struck out four and walked four. Ehire Adrianza had a two-run single in the victory.
Josh Harrison had two hits and a run scored for the Nationals. Washington starter Jon Lester (0-1), making his second start since coming off the injured list, gave up three runs on four hits in five-plus innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.
Indians 4, Royals 0
Triston McKenzie threw five-plus scoreless innings as Cleveland defeated host Kansas City to complete a sweep of the four-game series.
Cesar Hernandez and Rene Rivera each had three hits for Cleveland. Franmil Reyes, who is now hitting .538 (14-of-26) with six doubles and six RBIs in seven career games in Kauffman Stadium, hit his second home run in Kansas City, his eighth of the season.
The Royals have lost five straight games after coming into the series with the best record in baseball. Danny Duffy (4-2) took the loss for Kansas City. He allowed three runs on eight hits. His ERA rose to 1.26 for the season. It’s the first time this season Duffy’s ERA has been above 1.00.