Alvarez 2 HRs for Astros, Altuve hurt in 8-3 win over Angels

HOUSTON (AP) – Yordan Alvarez homered twice after missing five games because of COVID-19 protocols, and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-3 in their home opener while losing Jose Altuve to injury. Altuve fell to the ground after legging out an infield single in the eighth inning. Alvarez hit a 417-foot shot to the second deck off Michael Lorenzen (1-1) in the first inning, scoring Michael Brantley. Another two-run blast in the seventh made it 7-3. Luis García (1-0) allowed four hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. TWINS 8, RED SOX 3 BOSTON (AP) – Jorge Polanco and Kyle Garlick hit early two-run homers over the Green Monster to back Dylan Bundy, and Minnesota won in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game. The game started at 11:11 a.m. EDT, played in conjunction with the 126th Boston Marathon. Polanco added a two-run single in a four-run eighth inning and Gio Urshela had three singles for the Twins, who won the series finale for a four-game split. Bundy (2-0) gave up one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and no walks. Rich Hill (0-1), pitching three days after the death of his father, gave up four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. CUBS 4, RAYS 2 CHICAGO (AP) – Rookie Seiya Suzuki extended his hitting streak to nine games, tying Akinori Iwamura for the longest by a Japanese-born player at the start of a major league career, and Chicago beat Tampa Bay. Suzuki matched the mark that Iwamura set with the Rays in 2007. He is batting .429 after going 2-for-3 on a cold night. Ian Happ’s RBI single in the eighth against Jeffrey Springs broke a 2-2 tie and drove in Suzuki, who was hit by a pitch from Jason Adam (0-1) leading off the inning. Keegan Thompson (2-0) got Randy Arozarena to ground into an inning-ending double play in the fifth and struck out five in 3 2/3 innings while allowing one hit. David Robertson pitched around a walk in the ninth for his fourth save. BREWERS 6, PIRATES 1 MILWAUKEE (AP) – Christian Yelich belted a grand slam for his first homer of the season and Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh. Yelich’s two-out slam capped a five-run rally off Pirates starter Zach Thompson (0-1) in the fourth inning. The 429-foot blast was Yelich’s fourth career grand slam. Eric Lauer (1-0) gave up one run and five hits in six innings while striking out five and walking one. Pittsburgh got its only run in the fourth on rookie Diego Castillo’s first career homer, which came one pitch after Castillo swung at a slider from Lauer that hit him in the knee. ROCKIES 4, PHILLIES 1 DENVER (AP) – Chad Kuhl pitched six scoreless innings during his home debut with the Rockies before leaving with what appeared to be a cut near the middle finger of his pitching hand, and Charlie Blackmon hit a go-ahead home run to lead Colorado past Philadelphia. Kuhl (1-0) allowed a pair of singles, struck out four and walked one, throwing 42 of 68 pitches for strikes. He went to the mound to warm up for the seventh but didn’t start the inning. Tyler Kinley worked a perfect seventh and Alex Colome allowed a two-out walk in a hitless ninth for his first Rockies save. Aaron Nola (1-2) took a shutout into the sixth before Blackmon led off with his first home run tis season. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports