HOUSTON — Aroldis Chapman struck out AL MVP Jose Altuve on three straight 101 mph fastballs with two on to end the game, and the New York Yankees got a key hit from rookie Gleyber Torres during a three-run rally in the ninth inning to seesaw past the Houston Astros 6-5 Thursday.
The Yankees won a wild one to take 3 of 4 from the team that beat them in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last October. Astros closer Ken Giles, who punched himself in the face after a rough outing earlier in this series, didn’t pitch during New York’s late comeback.
New York took a 3-0 lead into the seventh, trailed 5-3 going into the ninth and let a bounced third strike give the Astros their final chance.
Pinch-hitter Evan Gattis fanned but reached on Chapman’s two-out wild pitch that catcher Gary Sanchez couldn’t find near the plate, and George Springer followed with a single. Altuve went down swinging, giving Chapman his seventh save and the Yankees a 6-1 record on their trip against the top two teams in the AL West.
ROYALS 10, TIGERS 6: Lucas Duda had three hits and drove in four and the Royals pounded three homers to beat visiting Detroit.
Salvador Perez, Jorge Soler and Alex Gordon each homered for the Royals.
BLUE JAYS 13, INDIANS 11: Yangervis Solarte hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the 11th inning to send visiting Toronto to a win in the first game of a traditional doubleheader set up because of April rainouts.
The second game was not completed by deadline.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 3, PIRATES 1: Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman homered in the sixth inning and host Washington completed a four-game sweep.
BRAVES 11, METS 0: Julio Teheran took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, 20-year-old Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his second big league home run and Atlanta routed host New York to complete a three-game sweep.
DODGERS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Arizona reliever Jorge De La Rosa threw a pair of run-scoring wild pitches during an eighth-inning rally that sent visiting Los Angeles to a win.
NOTES
MARINERS: Ichiro Suzuki was released by Seattle Mariners and is shifting into a front office role with the team, although he is not completely shutting the door on playing again.
The Mariners announced that Suzuki was becoming a special assistant to the chairman effective immediately. The team said Suzuki will have an active presence with the team and assist with outfield play, base running and hitting.
But nowhere in the announcement do they say the 44-year-old is retiring, although Suzuki is precluded from returning to the active roster in 2018.
YANKS-RED SOX: Major League Baseball intends to announce next week the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play two games at London’s Olympic Stadium on June 29-30 next year, a person familiar with the planning told The Associated Press.
Boston will be the home team for both of MLB’s first regular-season games in Europe.
DODGERS: Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will be sidelined until after the All-Star break with a severe left groin strain.
METS: Jacob deGrom is on track to take his next turn in the rotation Monday at Cincinnati after a scan and examination determined no major injury occurred when the right-hander hyperextended his pitching elbow while at the plate on Wednesday night.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.