Altuve powers Astros to first-ever sweep of Yankees

HOUSTON — Jose Altuve hit two homers, Carlos Correa homered with three RBIs and the Houston Astros completed their first sweep of the New York Yankees with an 8-6 win Wednesday night.

The Astros needed late-game comebacks to win the first two games of the series but used a four-run fifth inning to break the finale open and held on for their sixth straight win despite a big eighth inning by the Yankees.

It’s the first time since 2004 the Astros have swept a homestand of at least two series. They beat the Athletics three times this weekend before the Yankees arrived.

Altuve, who has homered in three straight games, hit his first one off James Paxton (1-2) to tie it at 1 in the first inning after Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer for New York.

The Astros were up by 1 with no outs in the fifth inning when Altuve connected off Paxton again. The towering shot clanged off the light pole atop the wall in left field to make it 4-2.

A single by Michael Brantley chased Paxton, who was replaced by Tommy Kahnle. He was greeted by a two-run home run by Correa that extended Houston’s lead to 6-2. Houston made it 7-2 on an RBI single by Jake Marisnick with two outs in the inning.

Houston starter Collin McHugh (2-1) allowed four hits and two runs while striking out nine in six innings for his second straight win.

PADRES 3, GIANTS 1

SAN FRANCISCO — Manny Machado put San Diego ahead with his third home run of the season in a win over San Francisco.

Signed to a $300 million, 10-year contract, Machado broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with an opposite-field drive to right on a fastball from Dereck Rodríguez (1-2). Machado went 1 for 4 and is hitting .244 with six RBIs.

Wil Myers added a run-scoring single in the ninth off Will Smith, and the Padres won for the fifth time in seven games.

CARDINALS 7,

DODGERS 2

ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna homered, Jack Flaherty tossed six effective innings and St. Louis beat Los Angeles.

The Cardinals have won four in a row and will try to sweep the four-game series Thursday. They have outscored their opponents 19-6 during the winning streak.

Max Muncy and Joc Pederson homered for the Dodgers, who have lost three straight after a five-game winning streak.

Paul DeJong had three hits and drove in a run with a triple in the sixth. DeJong extended his career-best hitting streak to 11 games. He is tied with San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford for the longest current streak in the National League.

MARINERS 6, ROYALS 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mitch Haniger hit a tiebreaking homer with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Seattle over Kansas City after Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to a Royals-record 31 games.

Merrifield’s RBI bunt single in the seventh tied it at 5 and moved him past Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise mark.

Kansas City dropped to 2-9 with its ninth straight loss.

ANGELS 4, BREWERS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Justin Bour hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for its sixth straight victory.

The Angels, who played without star outfielder Mike Trout, improved to 7-6 after losing five of their first six games. Trout strained his right groin during Tuesday’s win but said he hopes to be available for this weekend’s series in Chicago against the Cubs.

Bour is batting only .154 in his first season with the Angels but had a solid series against the Brewers. He was 3 for 10 with a home run and four RBIs as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep.

RANGERS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2

PHOENIX — Lance Lynn struck out nine over six solid innings, Hunter Pence homered into the Chase Field swimming pool and Texas rallied to beat Arizona after being held without a hit for five innings.

Lynn (1-1) pitched four-hit ball to help the Rangers end a four-game skid. They overcame an excellent start from Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray, who struck out 10 and allowed two hits and a run over five innings.

Andrew Chafin (0-1) pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth but was charged with a run an inning later.

Logan Forsythe drove in two for the Rangers, who scored two key runs in the ninth off reliever Matt Andriese.

Jose Leclerc, who blew a save chance and a two-run lead Tuesday, loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning. Leclerc walked Jarrod Dyson to make it 5-2, but Kyle Bird worked out of the jam for his first career save.

RAYS 9, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO — Tommy Pham homered twice and extended his on-base streak to a club record 45 games, leading Tampa Bay to its first series sweep in Chicago.

Austin Meadows had a single, double, home run and three RBIs for the Rays, who outscored Chicago 24-7 over three games. Tampa Bay won its four straight game and the AL East-leading Rays improved to 10-3, their best start since 2010.

Chicago lost its fifth consecutive game and at 3-8 is off to its worst opening since 1997.

NATIONALS 15,

PHILLIES 1

PHILADELPHIA — Jeremy Hellickson pitched three-hit ball over six innings, Matt Adams drove in four runs and Washington routed Philadelphia.

One night after wasting a five-run lead in a 10-6 loss in 10 innings, the Phillies were flat. Bryce Harper was 0 for 2 with a walk against his former team, and an offense that was averaging 6.3 runs per game got shut down by four pitchers.

Hellickson (1-0) struck out six in his first start this season. He was Philadelphia’s opening day starter in 2016-17.

Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr struck out Brian Dozier and Yan Gomes while allowing one run in the ninth.

PIRATES 5, CUBS 2

CHICAGO — Jordan Lyles struck out 10 in crisp six innings to tie a career high, Francisco Cervelli and Starling Marte homered off Yu Darvish, and Pittsburgh topped Chicago.

Lyles (1-0) allowed three hits and was sharp again in his second start, with Jason Heyward’s solo shot in the fifth accounting for the lone run against him. The right-hander walked only one as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 10-0 drubbing in the Cubs’ home opener Monday to win for the fifth time in six games.

Heyward had three hits and Javier Baez drove in run with a double in the eighth, but Felipe Vazquez got the final five outs for his third save in as many chances.

Darvish (0-2) and the Cubs (3-8) continued to struggle on a 40-degree night at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing in from center field at 20 mph.

ATHLETICS 10,

ORIOLES 3

BALTIMORE — Oakland slugger Khris Davis homered twice and had three hits, Baltimore’s Chris Davis extended his record hitless streak to 50 at-bats and the Athletics beat the Orioles.

Chad Pinder, Matt Chapman and Jurickson Profar also homered for Oakland, which can take the four-game series Thursday.

Chris Davis entered as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and flied out to center. He’s 0 for 29 this season and hasn’t gotten a hit since Sept. 14.

Oakland starter Frankie Montas (2-1) allowed three runs and three hits with three strikeouts and a walk over six innings.

Trey Mancini and Rio Ruiz each homered for the rebuilding Orioles, who have lost six of seven and fell two games below .500 for the first time this season.

Pinder provided the early lead with a solo homer in the second off Dan Straily (0-1). The A’s increased the lead to 3-0 an inning later when Chapman, who went 3 for 4, had an RBI double and scored on a single by Davis.

METS 9, TWINS 6

NEW YORK — Jake Odorizzi and Minnesota’s bullpen suddenly went wild, allowing seven straight batters to reach base despite not hitting a single fair ball and letting Noah Syndergaard and New York stroll past the Twins.

One day after the teams set a Citi Field record by totaling 10 home runs in the Twins’ 14-8 romp, the Mets barely had to swing to build a big lead.

A startling stretch that kept snowballing saw Odorizzi, newly promoted reliever Andrew Vasquez and Trevor Hildenberger combine to walk six and hit a batter with a pitch without getting an out. At one point, the Twins threw 21 pitches — 19 missed the strike zone, many of them bouncing or sailing all over.

TIGERS 4, INDIANS 1

DETROIT — Trevor Bauer allowed home runs to Niko Goodrum and John Hicks, who powered Detroit over Cleveland for the Tigers’ sixth win in seven games.

Bauer (1-1) gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Indians. He had allowed one run and one hit in his first two starts.

Miguel Cabrera singled with two outs in the first, and Goodrum sent the next pitch over the right-field wall.

Hicks homered leading off the sixth for a 3-1 lead, Gordon Beckham doubled with one out, and Josh Harrison singled on a bouncer up the middle to chase Bauer.

Matt Boyd (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in six innings with six strikeouts that raised his total to 29 in 17 1/3 innings over three starts.

Shane Greene, Detroit’s sixth pitcher, got three straight outs for his eighth save in eight appearances, ending Cleveland’s five-game winning streak. He became the first big leaguer with eight saves in his team’s first 12 games.

REDS 2, MARLINS 1

CINCINNATI — Jose Iglesias led off the eighth inning with a tying homer — only Cincinnati’s second hit of the game — and Jesse Winker connected one out later, rallying the Reds to a victory over Miami.

After dropping eight straight, the Reds (3-8) have taken the first two games against Miami by hitting seven homers. They hit five during a 14-0 victory Tuesday that ended the long slide.

The Reds managed only Matt Kemp’s single through the first seven innings and were facing their fifth shutout of the season before pulling off the late rally. Iglesias hit his first homer of the season off Drew Steckenrider (0-2) to tie it, and Winker put the Reds up with his second homer in two games.

Amir Garrett (1-0) went 1 2/3 innings. Raisel Iglesias struck out the side in the ninth for his first save, completing a combined three-hitter.