Astros bash seven homers, hammer A's
Houston battered Oakland pitching for 11 runs on 12 hits -- six of them home runs -- in the first two innings as the Astros hammered the visiting Athletics 15-0 to set a franchise record for home wins on Monday night.
Robinson Chirinos went 3-for-4, crushed a pair of home runs and drove in a career-high-tying six runs to help the Astros match their club record with seven homers in a game.
Yordan Alvarez belted a pair of solo homers, and Alex Bregman clouted a three-run homer as Houston won for the fifth game in a row and the 17th time in the past 21 games.
Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs, and Michael Brantley had a solo homer and two runs for Houston, which tallied 17 hits.
Starting pitcher Zack Greinke (15-5) beat the A's for the second time since being acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline. He tossed six scoreless innings of two-hit ball to improve to 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA since joining Houston.
The Astros moved to 56-17 at home, breaking the team record for home wins set in 1980 and 1998.
Oakland mustered just three hits and fell to 1 1/2 games behind idle Tampa Bay in the race for the first American League wild card.
Houston scored 21 runs in a home win over Seattle on Sunday, then picked up in the first inning right where it left off, putting together six hits -- five consecutive -- and six runs against A's starter Mike Fiers (14-4).
Unbeaten in 21 consecutive starts, Fiers allowed deep shots to Bregman (his 35th), Alvarez (23rd) on the next pitch and Chirinos (16th) as the Astros built a 6-0 lead.
Alvarez's first blast broke Carlos Correa's 2015 record for most homers by a Houston rookie.
Altuve slugged a two-run shot, his 26th, in the second for an 8-0 lead, and Brantley lashed his career-high 21st in the next at-bat to chase Fiers from the game after just one-plus inning.
The start was the shortest of Fiers' career, and the five home runs were the most he has allowed in a start.
Alvarez hit a mammoth blast off reliever Paul Blackburn later in the second, driving his 24th into the upper deck down the right field line for a 10-0 lead, and Chirinos added an RBI single.
Garrett Stubbs scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, and Chirinos clubbed a three-run long ball, his 17th, in the seventh.
Bryan Abreu pitched two innings of one-hit ball, striking out three, and Cionel Perez fanned two batters in a perfect ninth to complete the shutout.
--Field Level Media
