ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — José Abreu hit a grand slam and a three-run homer, those among five more long balls for Houston in the pivotal three-game AL West series, and the Astros completed a sweep over the slumping Texas Rangers with a 12-3 victory Wednesday night.
Abreu’s grand slam in the third inning was Houston’s third homer against Texas starter Max Scherzer, while fellow three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (11-7) settled in after giving up a long ball on his first pitch that was the only earned run he allowed over seven innings.
Houston hit 16 homers in the series — its most ever in any three-game span — while outscoring Texas 39-10 in their final head-to-head matchup this regular season. Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley also went deep against Scherzer, and Houston tacked on two more homers in the ninth off reliever Brock Burke. Abreu had a three-run blast and matched his career high with seven RBIs, and Chas McCormick also went deep.
The sweep put the reigning World Series champion Astros (80-61) in sole possession of the AL West lead for the first time all season, a game ahead of Seattle.
Marcus Semien hit two solo homers and had an RBI single to drive in all three runs for Texas (76-63), which lost for the 15th time in 19 games.
After being alone or tied for first place 148 of the season’s first 149 days, the Rangers are now third in the AL West, a season-high three games off the division lead. They also remained percentage points behind Toronto (77-63) for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot after the Blue Jays also lost.
It was the 12th regular-season meeting of pitchers with at least three Cy Youngs apiece, and first time ever that two-time teammates Verlander and Scherzer pitched against each other in a game. The right-handers were together with the Detroit Tigers from 2010-14, and this season with the New York Mets before both were traded right before the deadline to different AL West contenders.
The 40-year-old Verlander, whose 255 career victories are the most among active pitchers, scattered four hits and two runs (one earned) over seven innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Scherzer (12-6) was done after three innings, during which he allowed a season-high seven runs, all on the homers, with four strikeouts and two walks while throwing 60 pitches. He had pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings against Minnesota five days earlier, but left after 88 pitchers and later said he had some forearm tightness.
After Scherzer began Wednesday by striking out Jose Altuve, who had homered five times in the previous two nights, Jeremy Pena hit a double off the top of the wall and Yordan Alvarez followed with his 25th homer a 2-0 lead. Michael Brantley went deep in the second, a play on which All-Star right fielder Adolis Garcia got hurt after leaping at the wall to try to make a run-saving catch.
Garcia jammed his right leg hard after coming down to the ground, and the Rangers said he had knee discomfort.
Houston's 10th grand slam of the season was a 425-foot drive to left-center in the third that made it 7-1.
ATHLETICS 5, BLUE JAYS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Carlos Pérez broke out of a lengthy batting slump with a two-run homer off Hyun Jin Ryu and the Oakland Athletics avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Wednesday.
It was a milestone day for Ryu. The 36-year-old left-hander threw 77 pitches in his seventh start after beginning the season in the minors. That’s one more start than Ryu had in 2022, when his season was cut short in June due to Tommy John surgery.
Pérez’s sixth home run of the season accounted for the only A’s runs scored off Ryu (3-2), who allowed five hits and had five strikeouts with one walk. The loss was his first since Aug. 1, when he made his season debut.
Kevin Smith, called up from the minors before the game, added a three-run homer off Trevor Richards for the A’s. Oakland had lost two straight to the Blue Jays after sweeping Shohei Ohtani and the Angels to begin its homestand.
Davis Schneider homered for Toronto. The Blue Jays started the day with a half-game lead over the Rangers for the third AL wild-card spot.
A’s starter JP Sears (4-11) pitched five uneven innings and earned his first win since July 28. Sears, who leads the majors in hit batters, worked around four walks and allowed four hits and one run.
Ryu began the game by retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth, despite a great defensive play by first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
After Ryan Noda reached on a fielder’s choice, Pérez slammed a 2-2 fastball into the left field stands.
Pérez was also part of Oakland’s three-run sixth, when he and Jordan Diaz opened the inning with consecutive singles against Richards. Smith followed with his fifth home run, and first since June 11.
Sears pitched well enough to win, but the pitching highlight for the A’s was the return of top pitching prospect Mason Miller, who missed 105 games with a right forearm strain. Miller had three strikeouts and threw 27 pitches in two hitless innings.
Dany Jimenez followed Miller and allowed one run in one inning. Trevor May retired three batters in the ninth and picked up his 18th save.
MARINERS 8, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) — J.P. Crawford hit a three-run home run and Cal Raleigh added a solo shot during Seattle’s five-run fourth inning as the Mariners ended a three-game losing streak with an 8-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.
Raleigh had three hits and Mike Ford added a two-run homer in the second inning in support of Logan Gilbert (13-5), who struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings to improve to 4-0 in his last five starts. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks.
He had lasted at least six innings and not allowed more than two runs in the first three of those wins.
Matt Brash escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.
Cincinnati's Will Benson had three hits including a home run in the ninth inning off Andrés Muñoz.
The Mariners (78-61) went into the game second in the AL West, one game behind Houston. Cincinnati (73-69) was third in the NL Central and a half game out of the final NL wild-card berth.
Rookie Lyon Richardson (0-2) faced eight batters in the fourth. He finished 4 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and runs while walking four and striking out three.
The Reds finished their season series against the AL West with a 13-2 record. The only other loss was at last-place Oakland.
Ford gave Seattle a 2-1 the lead in the second inning with a 400-foot homer that landed halfway up the right field seats.
The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on TJ Friedl’s one-out triple and Spencer Steer’s chopper to left over the head of the leaping drawn-in Crawford at shortstop.
Christian Encarnación-Strand, who delivered the ninth-inning game-winning hit in Cincinnati’s 7-6 win on Tuesday, and Friedl each drove in a run.
RAYS 3, RED SOX 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Glasnow tied a career high with 14 strikeouts and the Tampa Bay Rays continued their home dominance of the Boston Red Sox with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night.
Glasnow (8-5) allowed one run and three hits over six innings in a season-high, 103-pitch outing. Boston was 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position against the 6-foot-8 right-hander.
After Robert Stephenson and Colin Poche went an inning each, Pete Fairbanks worked the ninth to get his 20th save and complete a four-hitter.
Brandon Lowe and Isaac Paredes hit solo home runs off Boston starter Nick Pivetta (9-8).
Tampa Bay took two of three in the series, and have won 14 of 15 at home against the Red Sox.
Boston struck out 17 times in the game, and finished with 47 strikeouts during the series.
The Rays hold a commanding lead for the top AL wild card. Boston started play five back of the final wild-card spot.
Boston rookie Triston Casas singled in the ninth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead on Paredes' shot in the fourth. It gave him three homers in 10 at-bats when facing Pivetta.
Lowe tied it at 1 with a third-inning homer. It was his third long ball in 13 at-bats against the right-hander.
Harold Ramírez, on his 29th birthday, ended Pivetta's night with a run-scoring double that made it 3-1 in the fifth.
Connor Wong had an RBI triple in the third that put Boston up 1-0. Rays shortstop Osleivis Basabe help keep Wong from scoring when he made a diving grab on Rafael Devers' grounder up the middle with the infield in.
Pivetta gave up three runs and seven hits over 4 2/3 innings in his first start since Aug. 15.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.