Valdez and Peña help Astros trounce Brewers to avoid a sweep
Houston Astros’ Zach Dezenzo slides safety into home plate ahead of the tag by Milwaukee Brewers’ Eric Haase (13) during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and Jeremy Peña homered and drove in four runs as the Houston Astros defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1 on Wednesday.
Houston earned just its second victory in seven games to snap Milwaukee’s three-game winning streak and leave both teams with .500 records. The Brewers were attempting to sweep a series from the Astros for the first time since 2012.
The Astros led 3-1 before Peña broke the game open by delivering a three-run homer to left off reliever Elvin Rodriguez with two outs in the sixth inning.
Valdez (2-4) struck out seven while allowing three hits, two walks and one run to earn his first win since the Astros’ March 27 season opener. He threw a season-high 101 pitches.
Milwaukee’s only run off Valdez came on Eric Haase’s fifth-inning homer, a 425-foot drive to center.
CARDINALS 5, PIRATES 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sonny Gray pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, and St. Louis beat slumping Pittsburgh for their fifth straight victory.
Gray (4-1) struck out eight and walked one in his first win since April 14. The right-hander went 0-1 with a 5.51 ERA in his previous three starts.
The Cardinals returned to .500 at 19-19, including a 15-6 record at home. They are 4-2 against the Pirates this year after finishing a three-game sweep.
GIANTS 3, CUBS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Robbie Ray pitched six sparkling innings, Wilmer Flores had three hits and San Francisco beat Chicago.
Ray (5-0) allowed one run and three hits in his second straight win. Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers each got three outs before Ryan Walker handled the ninth for his seventh save.
San Francisco took two of three at Chicago to improve to 24-14. The Giants scored nine runs in the 11th inning in a wild 14-5 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night.
GUARDIANS 8, NATIONALS 6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Carlos Santana kick-started an eight-run sixth inning with a bases-clearing double, and Cleveland beat the Nationals to win two of three at Washington in a 24-hour span.
The Guardians sent 13 men to the plate in the sixth against Michael Soroka (0-2) and relievers Jorge Lopez and Andrew Chafin. The first seven reached, and all of them scored. Leadoff man Steven Kwan scored twice in Cleveland’s biggest inning of the season.
MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 5
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Leody Taveras hit a game-tying two-out single in the eighth inning of his debut with Seattle before scoring the go-ahead run on Dylan Moore’s base hit and the Mariners rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Athletics and win their ninth straight series.
Andrés Muñoz gave up a leadoff single to Luis Urías in the ninth, before striking out Jacob Wilson looking to earn his 13th save. Muñoz hasn’t allowed an earned run in 18 innings.
Taveras drove in pinch runner Miles Mastrobuoni with one out then stole second before scoring on Moore’s single off Noah Murdock (1-1).
Wilson had two doubles and drove in a run in his first four-hit game to help the Athletics jump to a 5-0 fourth-inning lead off Mariners starter Bryan Woo. JJ Bleday had a two-run double, and Lawrence Butler added a solo homer.
METS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX (AP) — Juan Soto homered in consecutive at-bats, Kodai Senga overcame early control problems to pitch six scoreless innings and New York beat the Arizona.
Soto hit a solo homer off Merrill Kelly (3-2) in the seventh inning and added another off Jalen Beeks in the eighth, his seventh of the season. Soto also followed Francisco Lindor’s two-run double in the ninth with a sacrifice fly to put New York up 7-1.
New York earned a split of the four-game series. The Mets have won nine of 11 overall to improve to a major league-best 20-9.
DODGERS 10, MARLINS 1
MIAMI (AP) — Freddie Freeman singled twice and hit a bases-loaded triple and Los Angeles beat Miami.
Freeman drove in four runs and extended his hitting streak to 12 games as the MLB-leading Dodgers (25-12) took two of three at Miami and won their fourth straight series. Freeman went 8 for 13 in the series with six RBIs and two home runs.
Shohei Ohtani tripled and drew three walks Wednesday, including an intentional pass during a six-run seventh against reliever Lake Bachar.
Pinch-hitter James Outman padded the Dodgers’ lead with a three-run homer in the ninth.
Landon Knack (2-0) allowed four hits and no runs while striking out five after being called up earlier Wednesday from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Matt Sauer, who was also recalled, relieved Knack and pitched the final four innings for his first career save.
RED SOX 6, RANGERS 4
BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run single and had a solo homer, Wilyer Abreu added two solo shots and Boston beat Texas to snap a three-game losing streak.
Bregman and Abreu each drove in three runs for Boston, which was 1-4 against the Rangers this season before pulling out the victory.
Adolis García and Josh Jung each hit a solo homer for the Rangers, who have dropped eight of 11.
Abreu hit his second of the game deep into the seats in right in the eighth, making it 6-3.
Brennan Bernardino (2-1) worked a perfect inning of relief for the victory and Aroldis Chapman got the final three outs for his fifth save despite allowing Jung’s homer.
REDS 4, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA (AP) — TJ Friedl hit two home runs and Cincinnati beat Atlanta to snap a four-game losing streak despite losing right-hander Hunter Greene to a right groin injury after only three innings.
Greene struck out six batters and allowed only two hits in three scoreless innings. He was unable to complete his warmup before the fourth inning. Greene threw only two warmup pitches, including a pitch that hit the dirt, before stopping his routine.
Left-hander Brent Suter (1-0) replaced Greene on the mound and gave up a fifth-inning homer to Braves rookie catcher Drake Baldwin.
Right-hander Emilio Pagán, who blew a save in the Braves’ 2-1 win in 10 innings on Tuesday night, pitched the ninth for his ninth save. Pagán gave up a two-out single to Michael Harris II before pinch-hitter Eddie Rosario struck out to end the game.
ROYALS 2, WHITE SOX 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer to give Michael Wacha all the support he needed as Kansas City defeated Chicago.
It was the third straight quality start for Wacha (2-4), who allowed just three hits in seven innings, walked one and struck out five.
The Royals, who won for the 14th time in their last 16 games, lead the majors with 18 quality starts.
The White Sox got a run in the ninth off Carlos Estévez on a single by Luis Robert, but left the tying run stranded at third. Estévez allowed one run and three hits, but struck out two, including Josh Rojas for the final out to earn his 11th save.
Jonathan Cannon (2-4) took the loss, allowing two runs and nine hits in six innings.
PHILLIES 7, RAYS 0
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez allowed one hit over six innings, Trea Turner, Bryson Stott and Bryce Harper each drove in two runs, and Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay.
Sánchez (4-1) allowed a single by Junior Caminero in the first and walked Danny Jansen but didn’t allow a player past first base the rest of the night, finishing with three walks and five strikeouts. He lowered his ERA from 3.45 to 2.89.
Turner hit a line-drive solo homer to left-center in the third off Shane Baz (3-2). The Tampa Bay starter then unraveled in the fourth, when Johan Rojas dropped a squeeze bunt to score J.T. Realmuto from third. Philadelphia followed with three straight hits in a five-run inning, and Harper’s two-run double chased Baz.
Realmuto was the only Philadelphia starter without a hit. He left the game in the seventh with a left foot contusion after fouling a pitch off his shoe.
Kyle Schwarber singled in the first to reach safely in a 42nd consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors.
TWINS 5, ORIOLES 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Byron Buxton homered for a third straight game and Harrison Bader had a pinch-hit homer to lift Minnesota to a win over Baltimore for their fourth consecutive victory.
Buxton hit a three-run shot to the second deck in left field off Orioles starter Charlie Morton (0-7) in the bottom of the third inning to put the Twins up 3-1. Buxton also had a three-run homer in Tuesday’s 9-1 win over Baltimore and hit a solo blast Sunday in Boston.
Danny Coulombe (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win. Jhoan Durán earned his fifth save with a clean ninth inning for the Twins, who matched their longest winning streak of the season.
The Orioles have lost a season-high four in a row.
YANKEES 4, PADRES 3, 10 INNINGS
NEW YORK (AP) — Pinch-hitter J.C. Escarra came through with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and New York, held hitless into the seventh, rallied past San Diego.
Cody Bellinger homered with one out in the seventh for New York’s first hit off Padres starter Dylan Cease, who exited moments later with a cramp in his right forearm.
Max Fried tossed seven splendid innings in a pitchers’ duel with Cease before San Diego scored twice against the Yankees’ bullpen to build a 3-1 lead in the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Trent Grisham tied it in the bottom half with a two-run homer after Oswaldo Cabrera drew a leadoff walk from Jason Adam. It was Grisham’s 10th home run, eclipsing last year’s total.
Cabrera led off the bottom of the 10th with a sacrifice bunt that moved automatic runner Jasson Domínguez to third. Escarra then came off the bench and lofted a long fly into the left-field corner against Jeremiah Estrada (1-2) that allowed Domínguez to score easily.
TIGERS 8, ROCKIES 6, 10 INNINGS
DENVER (AP) — Spencer Torkelson hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning and Detroit beat Colorado Rockies to give A.J. Hinch his 900th win as a big league manager.
Torkelson hit a liner to right-center off Zach Agnos (0-1) that brought in Riley Greene, who began at second base under baseball’s extra-innings rule. Trey Sweeney added another run when left fielder Jordan Beck couldn’t snare his two-out blooper that was changed from a double to an error on Beck.
Will Vest (2-0) pitched out of a ninth-inning jam by striking out pinch hitter Kyle Farmer. He got Adael Amador to fly out in the 10th to end the game.
Javier Báez hit a pair of two-run singles to help make it a milestone night for Hinch, who became the 75th major league manager to reach 900 wins.
The Rockies dropped to a major league worst 6-29, tied for the second-worst record through 35 games in the live-ball era that began in 1920. They trail the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who opened at 5-30.
The Rockies’ Ryan McMahon finished with four hits, including two doubles and a two-run homer. Michael Toglia added two doubles and a two-run homer.
ANGELS 5, BLUE JAYS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jorge Soler lined a double into the left-field corner with the bases loaded to drive in three runs in the ninth inning and lift Los Angeles to a victory over Toronto.
Trailing 4-2, the Angels loaded the bases with no outs against Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman (3-1) when Kyren Paris drew a four-pitch walk and Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel singled.
Hoffman struck out Taylor Ward for the first out, but Soler drove a ball that rolled into the corner and past left fielder Jonatan Clase for the comeback win.
The Blue Jays opened the seventh with five straight hits, including Myles Straw’s go-ahead RBI single and Bo Bichette’s two-run single, to take a 4-1 lead.
Toronto starter José Berríos gave up two runs — solo homers by Paris and Yoan Moncada — and five hits in six innings, striking out nine, walking five and inducing 18 swinging strikes.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi gave up one run and five hits in six innings. Brock Burke (3-0), Los Angeles’ fifth pitcher, got the win with one scoreless inning.
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