ARLINGTON, Texas — Jose Altuve hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning and the Houston Astros finally beat the Rangers, 3-1 on Wednesday night in a game Texas starter Yu Darvish exited earlier than expected.
Darvish, in only his third start for the Rangers since Tommy John surgery in March 2015, left after feeling tightness in his right shoulder during the fifth inning. He was shaking his arm after throwing a 63 mph breaking pitch to strike out George Springer but faced two more batters to finish the inning.
Houston had lost its first eight games this season against its AL West and instate rival. The Astros had also lost 12 straight in Arlington, matching their club record for longest road losing streak against one opponent.
Doug Fister (6-3) got his fifth straight win over his last eight starts — all Astros victories. The right-hander had five strikeouts while allowing one run over six innings.
METS 6, PIRATES 5, 10 INNINGS
PITTSBURGH — Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores’ bloop single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning drove in the go-ahead run for New York in a victory over Pittsburgh.
Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker opened the 10th with consecutive singles off Cory Luebke (0-1), and James Loney sacrificed. Asdrubal Cabrera was intentionally walked, and Flores hit a flare into center field.
Addison Reed (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Jeurys Familia pitching a shaky ninth to convert his 35th straight save chance, including 19 this season. He walked three batters around Sean Rodriguez’s double-play grounder, then threw a called third strike past David Freese to end the game with runners at the corners.
Cespedes had three hits, and Michael Conforto drove in three runs.
GIANTS 2, RED SOX 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Mac Williamson hit a go-ahead home run leading off the eighth inning for his first career long ball, Brandon Belt also connected and San Francisco beat David Price and Boston to split the quick two-game series.
Price (7-3) struck out seven over eight innings, allowing three hits and two runs with two walks.
He and Madison Bumgarner opposed each other in a rare matchup between two of baseball’s top left-handers representing each league.
Both surrendered only a home run before Williamson sent the first pitch deep into the bleachers in left field.
Cory Gearrin (2-0) struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth for the win.
MARINERS 5, INDIANS 0
SEATTLE — Taijuan Walker returned to his early season form by throwing eight innings and tying a career high with 11 strikeouts, and Chris Iannetta provided the offense with two home runs in Seattle’s victory over Cleveland.
Walker (3-6) was dominant, allowing three hits and winning for the first time since April 25.
Iannetta hit a two-run homer in the third inning, added a solo shot in the fifth off Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (2-1) and had an RBI double in the seventh.
ORIOLES 4, ROYALS 0
BALTIMORE — Chris Tillman pitched effectively into the eighth inning to earn his seventh consecutive win, Ryan Flaherty drove in two runs and Baltimore extended Kansas City’s losing streak to seven games.
Tillman (8-1) allowed eight hits over 7 1/3 innings, matched his career high with nine strikeouts and walked none. The right-hander is unbeaten in 10 starts since April 14, 6-0 at home and tied for second in the AL in wins.
Brad Brach got the final five outs to earn his second save and help the Orioles complete their first three-game sweep of Kansas City since May 2011.
The Orioles took control with a four-run fifth inning against Edinson Volquez (5-6).
CUBS 8, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA — John Lackey struck out eight in seven dominant innings, Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist hit homers and Chicago beat Philadelphia.
Lackey (7-2) gave up three hits and extended his scoreless streak to 13 2/3 innings.
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez left the game after getting one out because of right biceps soreness. Velasquez threw two pitches and quickly left the mound when a trainer came out.
Brett Oberholtzer (2-1) replaced him and allowed one unearned run following his throwing error in four innings.
CARDINALS 12, REDS 7
CINCINNATI — Brandon Moss homered in consecutive at-bats, Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta added three-run drives and St. Louis rolled over Cincinnati.
Moss broke a 4-4, fifth-inning tie with a two-run drive into the right-field seats, then lined a solo homer that barely cleared the right-field wall in the seventh for his eighth career multihomer game.
Matt Bowman (1-1) got his first major league win by striking out his only batter, Zack Cozart, for the final out of the fifth with the potential tying run on second base.
Alfredo Simon (2-6) walked a season-high five, allowing six runs and seven hits in five innings.
YANKEES 12, ANGELS 6
NEW YORK — Chris Parmelee homered twice in his first start for the Yankees, Carlos Beltran added two more big hits to his huge series and New York’s bats broke loose late in a victory over Los Angeles.
Jacoby Ellsbury homered and scored three times, Brett Gardner had three hits and two RBIs, and the Yankees extended their home winning streak against the Angels to eight games. New York, which has won 15 of the past 20 meetings overall, will go for a four-game sweep Thursday night.
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols smacked consecutive doubles in the fifth to give Los Angeles a 5-4 lead that got away from Jered Weaver (5-5) and an ineffective bullpen.
Anthony Swarzak (1-0) was the winner in his Yankees debut, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of a shaky Nathan Eovaldi.
ROCKIES 1, DODGERS 0
LOS ANGELES — Chris Rusin combined with four relievers on a four-hitter as Colorado beat Los Angeles in the rubber match of their three-game series.
Rusin (2-4) allowed three hits in six innings for his first win since April 13.
Jake McGee pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
Kenta Maeda (5-4) took the loss for the Dodgers despite a career-high nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
BLUE JAYS 7, TIGERS 2
DETROIT (AP) — Josh Donaldson had three hits, including a three-run homer and a triple, and R.A. Dickey won consecutive starts for the first time since last summer, helping Toronto beat Detroit to avoid a three-game sweep.
Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer and Kevin Pillar added a two-run triple as Toronto stopped Detroit’s five-game winning streak.
Dickey (4-6) allowed two runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Combined with Friday’s victory at Boston, he won back-to-back outings for the first time since Aug. 28 against Detroit and Sept. 2 versus Cleveland.
Jordan Zimmermann (8-3) gave up seven runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings — including two triples and two homers.
RAYS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3
PHOENIX — Corey Dickerson homered twice and Tampa Bay completed a 10-game trip with a victory over Arizona.
Desmond Jennings also homered for the Rays. Rickie Weeks Jr. hit a home run for the Diamondbacks.
Jake Odorizzi (3-3) went five innings and got the victory, thanks to a two-run Tampa Bay sixth that put the Rays up 4-3.
Archie Bradley (2-2) allowed four runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
BREWERS 4, ATHLETICS 0
MILWAUKEE — Chase Anderson pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, Scooter Gennett drove in three runs and Milwaukee beat Oakland.
Anderson (4-6) improved to 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his last five starts,
Gennett keyed the offense off Jesse Hahn (2-4) with a run-scoring single in the first and a two-run base hit in the fourth.
TWINS 7, MARLINS 5
MINNEAPOLIS — Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer and drove in the go-ahead run with a double off the right-field wall to help Minnesota keep up its power binge in a victory over Miami.
Taylor Rogers (2-0) pitched one inning, and six relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Brandon Kintzler earned his first career save in place of struggling closer Kevin Jepsen.
Ichiro Suzuki had three hits for Miami to come within 29 of 3,000 for his major league career.
Nick Wittgren (1-1) gave up two runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.
BRAVES 4, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO — Ender Inciarte finished a home run shy of the cycle and scored twice, Julio Teheran pitched eight innings and had an RBI single, and Atlanta beat San Diego to stop a six-game losing streak.
Wil Myers homered twice for the Padres, last in the NL West at 25-36.
Teheran (2-6) allowed two runs and five hits, struck out eight and walked one. Arodys Vizcaino pitched the ninth for his seventh save in nine chances.
Drew Pomeranz (5-6) allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one.
