TORONTO — George Springer homered twice against his former team, leading José Berríos and the Toronto Blue Jays over Houston 2-1 on Saturday and snapping the Astros’ season-long winning streak at four.
Springer’s leadoff homer in the first was the 46th of his career. Starting at DH, Springer connected again in the third – the 19th multi-homer game of his career.
Springer was hit by a pitch in his next at-bat and stole second.
Of Springer’s six home runs this season, three have come against Houston. He was the MVP of the 2017 World Series when the Astros won their only championship.
Berríos (2-0) gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked two.
Both of Springer’s homers came off Luis Garcia (1-1), who allowed five hits in six innings.
TWINS 9, RAYS 1: Kyle Garlick hit two home runs off Tampa Bay starter Shane McClanahan and Minnesota won in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The second homer, Garlick’s third of the season, came with Carlos Correa on base in the sixth inning and broke a 1-1 tie.
Correa had three hits for the Twins, who have won eight of nine.
Cody Stashak (2-0) got the win in relief.
McClanahan (1-2) struck out a career-high 11 in five innings, giving up three runs on four hits, including Garlick’s two homers. The left-hander leads the American League with 42 strikeouts.
GUARDIANS 3, ATHLETICS 1: Pinch-hitter Richie Palacios delivered a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning and Cleveland took advantage of a key error to win at Oakland.
It was 1-1 with one out in the Cleveland ninth with a runner on first when Oscar Mercado hit a potential double-play grounder to rookie second baseman Nick Allen, who misplayed it for an error.
Palacios hit a towering double on a 3-1 pitch from Dany Jiménez (1-1) that landed near the base of the wall just past center fielder Christian Pache.
WHITE SOX 4, ANGELS 0: Tim Anderson and Luis Robert homered to help Chicago win at home, snapping the Angels’ six-game winning streak.
Josh Harrison, AJ Pollock and Anderson had two hits apiece for the White Sox, who won for just the second time in 12 games.
Vince Velasquez (1-2) held the Angels to four hits and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings. He was 0-9 with a 9.57 ERA in his previous 12 starts.
YANKEES 3, ROYALS 0: Gerrit Cole pitched six sharp innings, the Yankees resorted to manufacturing runs against sloppy Kansas City pitching, and visiting New York got its eighth straight win.
Cole (2-0) allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six in another dominant start at Kauffman Stadium. The Cy Young runner-up a year ago has allowed only two earned runs in 21 1/3 innings in the pitcher-friendly ballpark.
Aroldis Chapman worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save, helping the Yankees improve to 15-6 – just the fifth time since 1959 that the 27-time World Series champions have won at least 15 of their first 21 games.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIAMONDBACKS 2, CARDINALS 0: Merrill Kelly threw seven shutout innings and Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed each homered in the eighth inning, lifting Arizona to a win at St. Louis.
Marte led off the eight by taking a 1-1 changeup off Miles Mikolas (1-1) into the right-field bullpen for his first homer of the season. One out later, Ahmed sent a 1-1 fastball into the left-field bullpen for his second homer.
Kelly (2-1) pitched seven scoreless innings, holding the Cardinals to two hits. He’s allowed four total earned runs in his first five starts.
GIANTS 9, NATIONALS 3: Jason Vosler homered and Darin Ruf had three hits for San Francisco, which was missing several players because of COVID-19 but still beat visiting Washington.
Giants starter Logan Webb (3-1) gave up a career-high 11 hits in six innings in which he struck out three, walked one and allowed three runs.
PIRATES 7, PADRES 6: Ke’Bryan Hayes singled in the tying run and scored the winning run on an error as Pittsburgh scored twice in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat visiting San Diego.
Hayes hit a leadoff single into center field off Luis Garcia (0-1) that scored automatic runner Jake Marisnick with the tying run. First baseman Eric Hosmer then misplayed Bryan Reynolds’ ground ball. The ball rolled down the right-field line and Hayes scored from first base.
BREWERS 9, CUBS 1: Eric Lauer kept up his strikeout success, fanning 11 in seven innings as Milwaukee won at home.
Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Christian Yelich and Hunter Renfroe connected for consecutive home runs in the eighth.
The Cubs are 2-9 in the last 11 games after winning six of 10 to start the season.
PHILLIES 4, METS 1: Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning as visiting Philadelphia bounced back from being no-hit Friday night.
Mets starter Taijuan Walker and reliever Trevor May blanked the Phillies through six innings before J.T. Realmuto drew a one-out walk in the seventh from Adam Ottavino (1-1).
Schwarber, who entered Saturday hitting .164, followed by homering to right-center field for a 2-1 lead. Alec Bohm walked and scored when Odubel Herrera chased Ottavino with a two-out double.
ROCKIES 4, REDS 3: Chad Kuhl shook off a first-pitch homer by Tyler Naquin to last into the eighth inning, Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead two-run triple in the sixth and Colorado won in Denver.
Charlie Blackmon added an RBI double in Colorado’s four-run sixth inning.
INTERLEAGUE
MARLINS 3, MARINERS 1: Jesus Luzardo allowed one run and two hits in six innings and Miami won its seventh straight game, beating visiting Seattle.
Brian Anderson had two hits for the Marlins, whose last seven-game winning streak ran from April 24-30, 2016.
Luzardo (2-1) struck out five and walked one in his longest outing of the season.
RANGERS 3, BRAVES 1: Corey Seager homered in his third straight game, Dane Dunning allowed one run over a career-high 7 2/3 innings and Texas won at home.
Seager’s solo homer gave Texas its first run in the first inning since Opening Day. The Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak.
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