Baseball Capsules: Astros, off to best start in team history, defeat Yankees

Brian McCann hit a three-run homer against his former team and Lance McCullers Jr. pitched four-hit ball over six shutout innings to lead the Houston Astros past the host New York Yankees 5-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Carlos Correa added a pop-fly RBI single for the Astros, who boosted the top record in the majors to 25-11. Off to the best start in team history, Houston has won 10 of 12 and matched its longest winning streak of the season.

Didi Gregorius hit an RBI single off James Hoyt with two outs in the ninth. New York (21-12) has dropped three in a row for the first time since the opening week of the season.

The 23-year-old McCullers (3-1) struck out seven and walked none in his first start at Yankee Stadium. Rookie left-hander Jordan Montgomery (2-2) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.

Twins 1, Indians 0: Ervin Santana (6-1) allowed two hits and five walks in seven innings, Miguel Sano homered in the first off Josh Tomlin and visiting Minnesota handed Cleveland its first shutout of the season.

Taylor Rogers got the first out of the eighth, Matt Belisle finished the inning and Brandon Kintzler pitched a perfect ninth to complete the three-hitter and earn his ninth save in 10 chances. Cleveland, coming off a 4-5 trip, went 0 for 5 with runners scoring position and stranded eight runners.

Blue Jays 4, Mariners 0: Joe Biagini (1-1) gave up four hits in five innings, combining with four relievers on a seven-hitter, as host Toronto defeated Seattle.

Aaron Loup got one out, Danny Barnes and Ryan Tepera each worked 1 1/3 innings and Roberto Osuna finished.

Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer and Devon Travis had two RBIs despite a hitless night for the Blue Jays, who have won five of six.

Christian Bergman (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings.

Braves 8, Marlins 4: Tyler Flowers homered and drove in four runs as Atlanta beat host Miami to stop a six-game losing streak.

Flowers and Brandon Phillips each hit two-run singles during a six-run burst in the seventh inning that made it 8-1.

Mike Foltynewicz (1-4) allowed one run in six innings.

J.T. Realmuto, Justin Bour and Derek Dietrich hit home runs for the Marlins, who have lost four straight. Jose Urena (1-1) gave up two runs in six innings.

Rays 5, Red Sox 4: Alex Cobb (3-3) took a one-hit shutout into the seventh before tiring and gave up four runs – three earned – and three hits in 6 1/3 innings as visiting Tampa Bay beat Boston.

Alex Colome got four outs for his ninth save.

Evan Longoria hit a homer over the Green Monster completely out of Fenway Park

Reigning A.L. Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello (2-5) gave up five runs – three earned – with seven strikeouts in six innings for his second rough outing against the Rays this season. He lost only four games last year.

Diamondbacks 11, Pirates 4: Chris Iannetta homered early for Arizona, and later was bloodied by a fastball to the face as Arizona defeated Pittsburgh at Phoenix in what became the latest episode of ill will between these teams.

Iannetta turned into a pitch from reliever Johnny Barbato in the seventh inning and appeared to be struck in the nose. Iannetta was down in the dirt for several minutes with blood dripping off his face.

Iannetta eventually was helped to his feet and walked off, holding a cloth to his nose.

In the ninth, Arizona reliever Tom Wilhelmsen hit Pittsburgh’s Chris Stewart in the leg. Stewart trotted to first base without incident.

In 2014, Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt was hit by Ernesto Frieri of the Pirates in August and missed the rest of the year with a broken hand. The next day, Pirates star Andrew McCutchen was drilled in the back with a fastball.

Last May, Arizona’s Jean Segura was hit in the face during a game in Pittsburgh, setting up another round of retaliation.

Angels 7, Tigers 0: Matt Shoemaker allowed three hits in six innings during his best start of the season, Mike Trout and Luis Valbuena homered, and Los Angeles defeated Detroit at Anaheim, California.

Shoemaker (2-2) found his 2016 form for the first time this season, striking out seven and walking one. He improved to 3-1 with a 0.83 ERA lifetime against the Tigers.

The Angels scored runs against Jordan Zimmerman (3-2) in four of his six innings. Valbuena’s solo home run started the scoring in the second and Trout’s two-run blast completed it in the eighth.

Zimmerman was charged with five runs on 10 hits and three walks in his 5 1/3 innings.

Rangers 5, Athletics 2: Joey Gallo hit a game-ending three-run homer and Texas won with a four-run ninth for the second night in a row, this time beating Oakland in Arlington, Texas.

Gallo’s 12th homer of the season, off A’s closer Santiago Casilla (0-1), hit high off the foul pole down the right field line.

Jonathan Lucroy and Rougned Odor got the ninth started with consecutive singles. Mike Napoli, whose three-run homer ended a 5-2 win over San Diego on Thursday night, then hit a deep sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Odor was stopped at third when Carlos Gomez doubled into the right-center gap, but they all came home on Gallo’s blast that gave the Rangers their fourth consecutive victory.

Keone Kela (1-1), the fourth Rangers pitcher, went the last two innings.

Brewers 7, Mets 4: Eric Sogard and Orlando Arcia hit back-to-back homers in the sixth off Matt Harvey, spoiling the choppy return of New York’s starter from a three-game suspension in host Milwaukee’s win.

Harvey (2-3) allowed seven hits and five runs, including a season-high three homers, in his first outing in 10 days.

The light-hitting Sogard, whose contract was selected earlier Friday from the minors, hit a two-run shot into the second deck in right to break a 2-2 tie. Arcia’s pinch-hit solo homer chased Harvey from the mound three batters into sixth with nobody out.

This wasn’t the outing that the Mets hoped to get out of Harvey after a drama-filled week. He has apologized for skipping a game last weekend following a late night on the town.

New York’s Neil Walker went 3 for 3, including a solo homer off Matt Garza (2-0).

Padres 6, White Sox 3: Austin Hedges homered and drove in three runs with two out, and visiting San Diego handed Chicago its sixth straight loss.

Matt Szczur also homered on the first pitch of only the 10th game ever between the teams. Wil Myers went deep in the ninth, Allen Cordoba had three hits and Jhoulys Chacin (4-3) pitched into the seventh inning, helping San Diego bounce back from a disappointing 5-2 loss at Texas.

Hedges grounded a two-run double down the third base line in the third, giving the Padres a 3-0 lead. He delivered again with two out in the fifth, hitting a drive to left off Miguel Gonzalez (3-3) for his eighth homer.

Leury Garcia connected twice for the White Sox, who have dropped nine of 11 overall. He had four homers in 183 career games coming into the day.

Royals 3, Orioles 2: Eric Hosmer delivered another key hit, doubling home the go-ahead run in the eighth and giving Kansas City a win over Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri.

Lorenzo Cain singled with one out and Hosmer doubled to right-center field off Vidal Nuno (0-1).

Hosmer is hitting .403 with a .581 slugging percentage, six extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in his past 16 games. He has raised his batting average 97 points from .192 to .289 in that span.

Joakim Soria (2-1) worked a flawless eighth to pick up the victory. Kelvin Herrera earned his sixth save in seven chances.

Brandon Moss hit a towering 456-foot shot into the right-field water fountains in the fifth, giving the Royals a 2-1 advantage.

Caleb Joseph had two doubles, a triple, was hit by a pitch, scored a run and drove in a run for Baltimore.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 2: Willson Contreras connected twice for his first career multihomer game, Eddie Butler threw six scoreless innings in his season debut and visiting Chicago ended St. Louis’ six-game winning streak.

The Cubs won for just the second time in seven games. They played without N.L. MVP Kris Bryant, who was scratched from the lineup with a stomach virus.

Butler (1-0), who pitched the last three seasons with Colorado and was traded to the Cubs before spring training, gave up two hits. He struck out five and walked three.

Wade Davis got his eighth save in as many tries.

Contreras homered twice off Mike Leake (4-2), who entered with the National League’s best ERA and had only given up one home run in six starts.

Dodgers 6, Rockies 2: Clayton Kershaw pitched his way out of trouble time after time over seven solid innings, Chase Utley had a two-run triple as part of a five-run second and Los Angeles beat N.L. West-leading Colorado in Denver.

Cody Bellinger added a solo homer in the eighth to help the Dodgers pull within 1 1/2 games of Colorado.

Kershaw (6-2) ran his record to 89-0 when the Dodgers give him at least four runs of support. He also improved to 20-6 against the Rockies, surpassing fellow lefty Randy Johnson for most all-time wins versus the franchise.

On a tranquil evening, Kershaw allowed two runs and seven hits, but worked his way out of trouble with the assistance of three double plays.

The Dodgers took advantage of an erratic Tyler Chatwood (3-5), who walked four and allowed five runs over 4 1/3 innings.