Yordan Alvarez on Saturday hit three homers, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs as the visiting Houston Astros finished with six homers overall and defeated the Baltimore Orioles 23-2.
Houston has won eight straight, the longest winning streak in the American League, while Baltimore has dropped five in a row — all at home.
Alvarez led the offensive charge, but the Astros also got homers from Alex Bregman (three RBIs), Jose Altuve (three RBIs) and Carlos Correa (two RBIs). The club finished with 25 hits.
Photo: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY
The Astros scored eight runs in the first two innings and battered Baltimore starter Aaron Brooks (2-6) for nine runs and nine hits in just three frames.
That provided Astros starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez with a nice early cushion.
Sanchez (5-14) gave up one run on three hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Bregman and Alvarez started the scoring with back-to-back shots in the first. For Bregman, it was a two-run homer, and Alvarez followed with a solo shot for an early 3-0 lead.
Jace Peterson got a sacrifice fly for the Orioles in the first inning before Houston added five runs in the second inning.
First came Josh Reddick’s RBI single and then Altuve belted a two-run homer. Bregman added an RBI double before Brooks balked in a run for an 8-1 lead.
Correa hit a solo homer in the third and drove in a run with a fifth-inning single.
Yuli Gurriel pitched in with an RBI double in the fifth inning and George Springer made it 13-1 with his two-run double, also in the fifth.
Alvarez blasted his grand slam to right field off Tayler Scott during a six-run seventh inning that gave Houston a 20-1 lead. Then came Alvarez’s two-run shot off Stevie Wilkerson in the ninth inning.
Also on Saturday, it was:
‧ Reds 10, Cubs 1
‧ Mets 3, Nationals 2
‧ Twins 4, Indians 1
‧ Padres 8, Rockies 5
‧ Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 0
‧ White Sox 3, Athletics 2
‧ Marlins 7, Braves 6
‧ Blue Jays 5, Yankees 4
‧ Angels 12, Red Sox 4
‧ Cardinals 3, Pirates 1
‧ Brewers 3, Rangers 2
‧ Royals 7, Tigers 0
‧ Giants 3, Phillies 1
‧ A’s 5, Mariners 4
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