Wednesday's MLB: Verlander's no-hit bid ends in 7th inning, Astros edge A's 5-4

Oakland, Calif. — Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Yordan Álvarez cleared the bases with a go-ahead double in the ninth and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Elvis Andrus broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid with an RBI double in the seventh inning that tied the game at 1. Christian Bethancourt followed with a two-run homer, his first drive since 2016, to give Oakland a 3-1 lead.

Houston responded with four runs in the ninth off closer Dany Jiménez (2-3), keyed by Álvarez’s three-run double. Aledmys Díaz and Alex Bregman also drove in runs for the Astros, who won their fourth in a row.

Verlander finished with six strikeouts in seven innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits for a no-decision. Reliever Bryan Abreu (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Ryan Pressly closed for his 10th save.

(At) Toronto 7, Chicago White Sox 3: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer, Danny Jansen added a three-run blast, and Toronto won its seventh straight, it's longest streak since an eight-game run last September.

Santiago Espinal added a solo shot as the Blue Jays won for the 11th time in 14 games. Blue Jays left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu left after four innings because of tightness in his forearm. Ryu missed 24 games in April and May because of soreness in his forearm.

Ross Stripling (1-1) replaced Ryu and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings and Yimi Garcia finished.

Michael Kopech (1-2) walked four, struck out four and threw 85 pitches, 46 strikes. His ERA rose from 1.29 to 2.20.

(At) Boston 7, Cincinnati 1: Garrett Whitlock pitched six strong innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in four runs to help Boston beat Cincinnati.

Whitlock (2-1) allowed five hits and one unearned run before two relievers completed the seven-hitter.

Boston got to Hunter Greene (2-7) in the fourth inning. Greene struck out seven batters in the first three innings before the Red Sox broke through.

Rafael Devers opened the fourth with a double. J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts followed with singles and Alex Verdugo had a run-scoring double. Two out laters, Bradley singled home Verdugo ending Greene’s evening. He gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.

(At) New York Mets 5, Washington 0: Tomás Nido went 4 for 4 with three RBIs at the bottom of the batting order, and Carlos Carrasco combined with three relievers on New York’s second consecutive shutout to finish a perfect homestand.

Francisco Lindor extended his RBI streak to 10 games, matching Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for the second-longest in franchise history. New York went 6-0 against NL East rivals Philadelphia and Washington for its first undefeated homestand of six or more games since a 10-0 run in April 2015.

Nationals left-hander Evan Lee (0-1) lasted 3 2/3 innings in his big league debut after getting called up from Double-A Harrisburg. He allowed two runs and four hits.

Carrasco (6-1) matched his career high with five walks and pitched out of trouble all afternoon against the last-place Nationals. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings but stranded eight runners.

(At) St. Louis 5, San Diego 2: Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Dakota Hudson threw seven strong innings and St. Louis beat San Diego to complete a three-game sweep.

Nick Wittgren earned his first save by getting the last out of the game when he retired pinch-hitter Robinson Canó on a fly ball with the bases loaded. The Cardinals have won five of six games. The Padres have lost four of five.

Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 23 games and reached safely for a career-best 37th consecutive game. Hudson (4-2) gave up a run in the first inning but shut out the Padres over the next six innings. He allowed one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Yu Darvish (4-3) pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up five runs and seven hits.

(At) Cleveland 4, Kansas City 0: Rookie left-hander Konnor Pilkington struck out eight in five innings for his first major league win and Cleveland completed a three-game sweep.

Pilkington (1-0), making his third career start and sixth appearance, worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth. The left-hander is taking the rotation spot of injured Aaron Civale.

José Ramírez had a run-scoring groundout in the fifth for his major league leading 52nd RBI. Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez and Richie Palacios also drove in runs for Cleveland.

Brad Keller (1-6) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings.

(At) Baltimore 9, Seattle 2: Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías hit two of Baltimore's four homers with back-to-back shots in the sixth inning to cruise past Seattle.

Rougned Odor and Trey Mancini also connected for the Orioles, who bounced back from a 10-0 defeat the prior night. Reliever Cionel Perez (4-0) picked up the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Baltimore pulled away with five runs in the sixth. Mountcastle and Urías gave the Orioles a cushion with back-to-back home runs. Cedric Mullins hit an RBI double and Mancini connected for a two-run shot that boosted the lead to 9-2.

Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray (4-6) allowed four runs and six hits with six strikeouts and three walks over five innings.

Miami 14, (at) Colorado 1: Rookie right-hander Edward Cabrera took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out nine in earning his first big league win, Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered and drove in four, and Miami had 21 hits in routing Colorado in the first game of a doubleheader.

Cabrera (1-0), a 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic, used a fastball topping out at 99 mph with a slider and changeup to baffle Colorado’s lineup.

He allowed one hit over six innings, overcoming four walks and two hit batters in the Marlins’ second win in seven games.

Chisholm hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off starter Antonio Senzatela (2-3), who gave up a career-high 13 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings in his first start after being sidelined with a sore back.

Atlanta 6, (at) Arizona 0: Austin Riley hit a three-run homer, William Contreras had three hits — including two of Atlanta’s five doubles — and Kyle Wright threw six scoreless innings for Atlanta.

Riley’s homer broke open a close game in the seventh for the Braves, who salvaged the final game and avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Adam Duvall, Michael Harris II and Guillermo Heredia also doubled for Atlanta.

Wright (5-3) received more than three runs of support for the first time this season while giving up three hits and five walks with five strikeouts in his seventh quality start.

Atlanta’s five doubles — all with an exit velocity of at least 105 mph — came in the first four innings off Madison Bumgarner (2-4), who had won his last eight decisions against the Braves.

(At) Philadelphia 6, San Francisco 5: Kyle Schwarber and Nick Maton homered to help Philadelphia snap a five-game losing streak with a victory over San Francisco.

Phillies star Bryce Harper was a late scratch from the lineup due to right forearm soreness, and second baseman Jean Segura was ruled out for up to three months with a fractured right index finger.

Maton, Segura’s replacement at second base, also had an RBI bunt single as Philadelphia avoided a three-game sweep and won for just the fifth time in 17 games while likely cooling calls for manager Joe Girardi’s job — at least for now.

Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (3-4) was cruising until allowing five runs in the sixth inning. The Phillies picked him up in the bottom of the frame against reliever Jarlin Garcia (1-2).