Houston • Jose Altuve upped the pressure on Alex Bregman as he walked to home plate with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“Altuve told me ... that he’s not bringing his bat or batting gloves to the on-deck circle, so I better get the job done,” Bregman said. “So I had to find a way.”
Bregman hit a game-ending two-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 to match a franchise record with their 12th straight win.
Houston trailed 4-0 after three innings but cut the lead to one entering the ninth.
Sergio Romo (1-2) walked Marwin Gonzalez to start the ninth, then allowed a single to Max Stassi. Tony Kemp’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners up, and Houston loaded the bases when George Springer reached on interference by catcher Wilson Ramos.
Bregman then drove a ball that bounced off the wall in left-center. He lifted both arms as he trotted into second base, and teammates mobbed him in the infield.
It was Houston’s second game-ending hit of the season, and the other also came off Bregman’s bat April 7 against San Diego. Bregman also walked off Houston with a single in Game 5 of the World Series last season.
Nationals 5-2, Yankees 3-4 • In Washington, teenager Juan Soto homered in a game that officially was played before he made his major league debut. Soto delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit, two-run shot in the sixth inning of a game that began and was suspended because of rain last month, five days before he was called up from the minors for the first time, to lift the Washington Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees in the opener of an unusual semi-doubleheader. In Game 2, Aaron Judge made two key catches of balls hit by Trea Turner, including one on the warning track that bailed out Aroldis Chapman with two men on in the bottom of the ninth to end it, and the Yankees grabbed a 4-2 victory with the help of Aaron Hicks’ go-ahead two-run homer.
Mets 12, Rockies 2 • In Denver, Brandon Nimmo homered twice during a huge night at the plate, including an inside-the-park shot to begin the game, and New York finally gave Jacob deGrom some run support. Wilmer Flores and Devin Mesoraco also went deep for New York, which won its third straight. DeGrom (5-2) allowed two runs — one earned — in eight innings. The right-hander struck out seven, walked one and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.51.
Phillies 6, Cardinals 5 (10) • In Philadelphia, left fielder Marcell Ozuna dived for and missed Aaron Altherr’s two-run double with two outs in the 10th inning, allowing the Phillies to rally for a win over St. Louis. Altherr had been hitless in his last 12 at-bats and 1 for 20 before the hit.
Pirates 1, Brewers 0 • In Pittsburgh, Trevor Williams bounced back from recent struggles by pitching one-hit ball over seven innings, and two Pirates relievers closed out a two-hitter in a victory over Milwaukee. Williams (6-4) struck out seven and walked two for his first victory in a month and after he had allowed a combined 12 runs in six innings in his previous two starts.
Indians 6, White Sox 2 • In Cleveland, Trevor Bauer pitched seven scoreless innings before a rain delay ended his night, and Jason Kipnis homered to lead the Indians over sliding and sloppy Chicago. Bauer (6-5) allowed just three hits, struck out eight and was in line to potentially pitch his first career shutout. However, after the game was halted in the seventh for 35 minutes, manager Terry Francona pulled the right-hander following the delay.
Rangers 6, Royals 3 • In Kansas City, Mo., Bartolo Colon earned his 244th win, passing Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for the most by a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic, and Texas beat the skidding Royals. Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer for the Rangers, who won their third straight game. The 45-year-old Colon (4-4) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings to break a tie with Marichal on the career wins chart. Only right-hander Dennis Martinez has more victories among pitchers from Latin America. Martinez, a native of Nicaragua, won 245 games in the majors.