Astros complete sweep of Mets behind 2 more HRs by Alvarez

HOUSTON (AP) – Yordan Alvarez homered twice off Carlos Carrasco as the Houston Astros jumped on him early and held on for a 5-3 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday. Alvarez hit two of the season-high three homers Carrasco allowed before the pitcher left with lower back tightness in the third inning with the Astros up 5-1. Alvarez, who also homered Tuesday night, now has 21 this season. The 24-year-old Alvarez leads all players with a 1.064 OPS and has hit nine homers in his last 20 games. Alex Bregman added a two-run homer for the Astros, who won their third straight. Houston starter Luis García (5-5) yielded six hits and three runs with five strikeouts in five-plus innings for the win. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his 14th save. Carrasco (8-3) yielded four hits and five runs in 2 1/3 innings before his injury. The National League-leading Mets have dropped eight in a row in Houston. RANGERS 4, PHILLIES 2 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Brad Miller hit a two-run single against his former team and Texas beat Philadelphia for the ninth time in a row to hand Zack Wheeler his first loss in two months. Kole Calhoun also drove in two runs for the Rangers, whose winning streak against the Phillies dates to the opening day of the 2014 season. Jon Gray (3-3) won consecutive starts for the first time this season. The right-hander struck out six and walked one while allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings. Joe Barlow, the third Texas reliever, worked the ninth for his 13th save. Wheeler (6-4) lost for the first time in his last 10 starts, since losing his first three starts this season. He struck out eight, but walked three and gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Kyle Schwarber extended his career-best on-base streak to 26 games for the Phillies with a two-run homer. Philadelphia has lost three games in a row after winning 14 of its first 16 games for interim manager Rob Thomson. BLUE JAYS 9, WHITE SOX 5 CHICAGO (AP) – Bo Bichette hit a grand slam and Alejandro Kirk homered for the second straight game, leading Ross Stripling and Toronto over injury-riddled Chicago. Bichette’s second career slam capped a five-run fourth inning as the Blue Jays avoided a three-game series sweep. Kirk hit an RBI single in the first and a homer in the third. He tops All-Star fan voting for AL catchers and leads all qualified major league catchers in batting average (.307) and OPS (.857). Kirk batted .364 (8 for 22) with four home runs and eight RBIs in five games against the White Sox this season. Stripling (4-2) gave up one run in six innings. He scattered five hits and didn’t allow a runner past second until Josh Harrison scored from first on a single by Luis Robert in the sixth. Lucas Giolito (4-4) allowed seven runs on a season-high 11 hits in five innings. He has a 9.47 ERA in his last five starts. PADRES 10, DIAMONDBACKS 4 SAN DIEGO (AP) – Jurickson Profar had four hits, drove in two runs and scored twice for San Diego, which jumped on Madison Bumgarner early against Arizona for a three-game sweep. Jorge Alfaro, whose walk-off single in the 10th inning Tuesday night gave the Padres a 3-2 win, hit a solo homer in the sixth. Rookie José Azocar fell a home run short of the cycle in his first career three-hit game. Adrian Morejon (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win. Nick Martinez pitched the final 3 2/3 innings for his first save. Padres All-Star slugger Manny Machado missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle, but manager Bob Melvin returned after missing 11 games while in the COVID protocols.