Kansas City, Mo. • A.J. Hinch wiped the sweat from his brow after watching his Astros win their 10th straight game on Saturday, joking that he might get tossed early the next time out to avoid the Kansas City heat.
The skipper hasn’t been sweating many outcomes lately.
Houston’s latest solid start came from Dallas Keuchel, who allowed the Royals two unearned runs over six sharp innings. Its latest offense came from Max Stassi and Alex Bregman, who belted three-run homers at spacious Kauffman Stadium. And its latest win was a 10-2 rout as the heat index eclipsed 100 degrees.
“I’m really happy with how consistently the guys are showing up expecting to win, and then going out and doing it,” Hinch said. “We’re a hard team to beat right now.”
Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the first to send the World Series champions on their way. The Astros have won the first nine games on their 10-game road swing, already making it the best trip in club history with the series finale still to come on Sunday.
Keuchel (4-8) allowed two unearned runs and six hits in six innings.
Saturday’s Roundup
Yankees 4, Rays 1 • In New York, Luis Severino pitched eight sharp innings and also jumped to steal away a popup from catcher Gary Sanchez as New York won for the 13th time in 16 games. Giancarlo Stanton and Sanchez hit back-to-back home runs.
Tigers 7, White Sox 5 • In Chicago, Nicholas Castellanos homered twice and Jose Iglesias hit a tiebreaking RBI single in Detroit’s two-run eighth for its fourth straight win.
Blue Jays 2, Nationals 0 • In Toronto, Max Scherzer lost his second straight start for the first time since 2015 when Marco Estrada pitched 62⁄3 shutout innings and Devon Travis homered to lead Toronto past Washington.
Braves 1, Padres 0 • In Atlanta, Sean Newcomb (8-2) pitched six scoreless innings and Charlie Culberson homered to lead Atlanta. The NL East-leading Braves improved to 25-7 when their starter pitches at least six innings.
Marlins 5, Orioles 4 • In Baltimore, J.T. Realmuto homered twice and had four RBIs off Alex Cobb, and Miami handed Baltimore its ninth straight loss.
Athletics 6, Angels 4 • In Oakland, Calif., Stephen Piscotty hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the sixth inning and Oakland held on to beat Los Angeles. Sean Manaea (6-6) pitched four-hit ball and allowed three runs over six innings.
Pirates 6, Reds 2 • In Pittsburgh, Josh Harrison hit a two-run homer, Colin Moran and Elias Diaz added solo shots and Pittsburgh pulled away from Cincinnati.
Ivan Nova (4-5) worked through heavy traffic in six innings to earn the win.
Rangers 5, Rockies 2 • In Arlington, Texas, Adrian Beltre hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the eighth inning, and Texas snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Twins 9, Indians 3 • In Cleveland, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco was pulled after he was struck on the right arm by a line drive, and Minnesota got four hits from Eddie Rosario in a win over Cleveland.
Phillies 4, Brewers 1 • In Milwaukee, Rhys Hoskins and Andrew Knapp hit home runs and Philadelphia overcame stranding 15 runners on base. Zach Eflin (4-2) beat Milwaukee for the second time in a week.
Mariners 1, Red Sox 0 • In Seattle, Wade LeBlanc pitched into the eighth inning and Nelson Cruz had an RBI single as Seattle beat Boston. LeBlanc gave up just two hits and struck out nine over 72⁄3 innings. After a single by Mookie Betts on the opening at-bat of the game, LeBlanc (3-0) retired the next 22 batters until Eduardo Nunez singled with two outs in the eighth.
Dodgers 3, Giants 1 • In Los Angeles, Enrique Hernandez and Matt Kemp each homered for the second consecutive game, Alex Wood got his first victory since May 20 and the Dodgers beat San Francisco for their fifth straight win.
Cubs 6, Cardinals 3 • In St. Louis, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward homered and Ian Happ’s seventh-inning double broke a 3-all tie as Chicago rallied to beat the Cardinals.
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