Bregman homers for 2nd straight day, Astros beat A's again

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer for his second longball in two games, and the Houston Astros slugged past the Oakland Athletics 9-5 on Friday night.

Yuli Gurriel also connected and Michael Brantley added a run-scoring double as Houston jumped out to a big lead again — a night after the Astros won the opener 8-1 behind Zack Greinke's six shutout innings.

Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Houston added an insurance run — and it was an important one, as Chad Pinder connected for a two-run homer in the bottom half.

Houston's José Altuve reached base in all five of his plate appearances, with three hits and two walks.

“Well Altuve’s obviously hot. The guy behind him is even hotter," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Brantley, who had three hits for the second straight game.

The Astros have scored 17 runs in their first two games.

“I feel really good. The only thing I'm trying to do right now is get on base," Altuve said. “Obviously I have great hitters behind me ... I feel I need to get on base and let them do the rest.”

Left-hander Jesús Luzardo (0-1) struck out eight with one walk over five innings, surrendering the two homers among his eight hits and five runs.

Astros righty Cristian Javier, a five-game winner last year in his first big league season, didn't allow a hit until Mark Cahna's infield single before Ramón Laureano followed with an RBI triple to put Oakland on the board.

Laureano later suffered a jammed left wrist diving into first. X-rays showed no structural problems. Catcher Sean Murphy was a late scratch because of a bruised right hand.

Bryan Abreu (1-0) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for the win.

Not a bad first couple of games for Houston.

“These young guys are stepping up. This is...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Bregman-homers-for-2nd-straight-day-Astros-beat-16074116.php