2 BOMBS FOR YORDAN!
Yordan Alvarez belts 2 home runs, drives in 3 to lift Astros to 5-4 win over Red Sox
Aug 10, 2024, 6:36 pm
2 BOMBS FOR YORDAN!
Yordan Alvarez belted two home runs and drove in three runs, rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 13 over seven innings and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Saturday.
Zach Dezenzo hit his first major-league homer and Alex Bregman added a solo shot for the AL West-leading Astros, who won their second straight over Boston and fourth straight overall.
Danny Jansen and Masataka Yoshida each had a solo homer for the Red Sox, who lost a series for the first time in their last four.
In recording his 19th career multi-homer game, Alvarez improved his lofty career numbers in Fenway Park, where he’s batting .463 with seven homers and 19 RBIs. He entered the day leading all AL hitters with a .354 average in road games.
His second shot came off a slider from Brad Keller (0-3) and traveled an estimated 422 feet into the right-field seats.
Arrighetti (5-10) gave up just two hits — the solo homers — and walked one in his 92-pitch outing.
Josh Hader got the final three outs for his 25th save despite giving up Rafael Devers’ leadoff double. It was his 25th straight successful save opportunity, which is a club record.
Alvarez had given Houston a 1-0 lead when he sent Josh Winckowski’s changeup over Boston’s bullpen in the first.
Bregman’s seventh-inning drive sailed deep in the batters’ eye in center off Keller. Dezenzo’s went over Green Monster seats in left.
Wilyer Abreu’s two-run single sliced Boston’s deficit to 5-4 in the eighth.
Called up from Triple-A Sugar Land in April to fill an opening in Houston’s injury-depleted rotation, the 24-year-old Arrighetti kept Boston’s hitters off balance by mixing his mid-90 mph fastball with a change, sweeper and curveball until Jansen hit a first-pitch fastball completely out of Fenway over the Monster to open the fifth.
Arrighetti, the club’s top pitching prospect entering the season, was coming off his best start in his last outing, when he struck out 12 over six innings, holding Tampa Bay to one run in a tough-luck loss.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Kendall Graveman (right shoulder surgery) threw off the Fenway Park mound before the game. Manager Joe Espada said it was around 10 pitches and they’ll wait to see how he feels before the next step. … RHP Justin Verlander (neck discomfort) was still expected to make a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night.
Red Sox: RHP Liam Hendriks threw his second live BP, this time off the Fenway mound as he continues his return from ulnar collateral ligament surgery last August. He’s expected to throw another on Tuesday or Wednesday and could go on a rehab assignment after that. “Today was better than the other day,” he said. “The other day we noticed a couple of things. We, I mean, the coaching staff and my wife. She pulled up (clips) of how I used to pitch.” … 1B Triston Casas (strained rib since mid-April) continues his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester. Manager Alex Cora said he won’t be back this weekend or the upcoming three games against Texas.
UP NEXT
RHP Hunter Brown (9-7, 3.98 ERA) is set to go for the Astros in Sunday’s series finale against LHP James Paxton (9-3, 4.42), who is making his third start with Boston since he was acquired in a trade from the Dodgers.
Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.