OAKLAND, Calif.

Justin Verlander pitched just well enough to earn his 200th career win and the Houston Astros hit five home runs, beating the Oakland Athletics 9-4 Sunday to avoid a sweep and retake sole possession of the AL West lead.

The surging A’s had won the first two games at the Coliseum to tie shaky Houston atop the division. But Yuli Gurriel hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Evan Gattis, Alex Bergman, Marwin Gonzalez and Martin Maldonado later homered for the defending World Series champions. Maldonado also tripled and doubled.

Verlander (12-8) gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings while becoming the 114th pitcher with at least 200 career wins.

Oakland’s Sean Manaea (11-9) was charged with six runs and nine hits in fourplus innings.

Dodgers 12, Mariners 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pitched seven sharp innings for his 150th career win, Justin Turner homered and drove in five runs, and Los Angeles routed Seattle.

Kershaw (6-5) gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked one. The 30-year-old lefty with three NL Cy Young Awards improved to 150-69 in the majors.

Kike Hernandez had an RBI single as part of the Dodgers’ five-run first inning against Roenis Elias (2-1). He added his 18th home run and a bases-loaded walk as.

Mets 8, Phillies 2

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Amed Rosario had three hits and drove in three runs, and New York went from cheering on players in the Little League World Series to impressing the youngsters in a victory over Philadelphia.

Players and families from the 16 teams competing in the nearby LLWS packed into 2,500-seat Bowman Field, the 92-year-old home of the Phillies’ Class A affiliate in the New York-Penn League.

The spotlight shined on New York’s Todd Frazier and Michael Conforto and Philadelphia’s Scott Kingery, who are among 54 players who reached the majors after playing in the LLWS.

Brewers 2, Cardinals 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Moustakas hit a two-run double, Jhoulys Chacin beat St. Louis for the first time in his career and Milwaukee edged the Cardinals.

John Gant (5-5) gave up two runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Pirates 2, Cubs 1, 11 innings

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Frazier hit a gameending homer in the 11th inning, and Pittsburgh beat Chicago for a split of its four-game series.

NL Central-leading Chicago managed just one run in each game of the series, but took the first two behind strong pitching performances by Jon Lester and Cole Hamels.

Rockies 4, Braves 2

ATLANTA (AP) — DJ LeMahieu homered, German Marquez pitched seven solid innings and the Rockies closed out their first fourgame sweep in Atlanta.

Johan Camargo had two hits and two RBIs for Atlanta. Anibal Sanchez (6- 4) struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

Indians 8, Orioles 0

CLEVELAND (AP) — Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam to cap a six-run fourth inning and Cleveland beat Baltimore for its AL-leading 13th shutout.

Orioles starter Yefry Ramirez (1-5) allowed seven runs in three-plus innings. The rookie right-hander was removed after the first five hitters reached base in the fourth.

Marlins 12, Nationals 1

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jose Urena made the most of his borrowed time, pitching a two- hitter for his first complete game in the majors and leading Miami over Washington.

Urena, tied for the NL lead in hit batters, didn’t plunk anyone on the Nationals. He struck out four, walked two and retired the last 16 batters. It was his first complete game in 74 big league starts.

Yankees 10, Blue Jays 2

NEW YORK (AP) — J.A. Happ stayed unbeaten with New York by topping his former Toronto teammates, and Greg Bird hit a grand slam during a six-run first inning.

The Yankees’ first six batters each reached base against Ryan Borucki (2-3).

Rangers 4, Angels 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rougned Odor connected on a go-ahead, three-run homer with rain falling in the seventh inning, and Texas beat Los Angeles to wrap up a soggy weekend.

Three Texas relievers retired all nine hitters, starting with Matt Moore (3-6) in the seventh.

D-Backs 4, Padres 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A.J. Pollock homered in the ninth inning, and Arizona beat San Diego to stay on top of the NL West.

Archie Bradley (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, and Brad Boxberger retired the side in the ninth for his 28th save. The Diamondbacks remained a half-game ahead of Colorado, which won 4-2 at Atlanta.

Twins 5, Tigers 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eddie Rosario hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Minnesota connected three times in all, beating Detroit.

Trevor Hildenberger (3-3) relieved Taylor Rogers in the eighth and got James McCann on a grounder with two on to end the inning. He worked a scoreless ninth despite pinchhitter Victor Reyes’ leadoff single and a walk to Jose Iglesias to complete the outing.

White Sox 7, Royals 6

CHICAGO (AP) — Omar Narvaez homered and drove in the go-ahead run with a single off Brian Flynn (3-4), Chicago relievers tossed seven scoreless innings and the White Sox rallied from a sixrun deficit.

Ryan O’Hearn, Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon homered for Kansas City, which dropped to 2-13 in the rubber game of series this season.

Reds 11, Giants 4

CINCINNATI (AP) — Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run homer during Cincinnati’s seven-run third inning, and the Reds swept San Francisco.

San Francisco dropped its fourth consecutive game. Andrew Suarez (4-9) was tagged for seven runs, five earned, and seven hits in a season-low 2 2/3 innings.

Comments are not available on this story.