MARTIN MALDONADO

Houston Astros catcher Martín Maldonado was forced to switch bats for Game 2 of the World Series after it was determined the model he swung in the opener was no longer allowed in the majors.

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve has long been a postseason powerhouse.

HOUSTON — (AP) — Framber Valdez set an MLB record with his 25th straight quality start, and Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado had four RBIs each to help the Houston Astros build an early lead in an 11-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. Alvarez drove in three runs with a double in Houston’s five-run third inning and padded the lead with an RBI double the sixth inning. Valdez, who threw his first career shutout in his last start, is 15-4 during this streak, which began April 25. The Astros jumped on rookie Ken Waldichuk (0-2) early as he was tagged for five hits and five runs in 2 2/3 innings in his fifth career start. Nick Allen and Tony Kemp hit consecutive singles to start the sixth before Garcia’s double scored them both to cut the lead to 7-2.

Framber Valdez set a major league record with his 25th straight quality start, and Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado had four RBIs each to help the Houston Astros to an 11-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics.

Sports Seriously: MLB insiders Bob Nightengale and Steve Gardner examine if the Yankees fixed their issues prior to the trade deadline and if they're truly ready for a deep October run.

Sports Seriously: MLB insiders Bob Nightengale and Steve Gardner break down the Nationals' trade of Juan Soto how they could be better for it in the long run.

Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris and Ryan Pressly combined on the first no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 19 years, shutting down the best team in baseball and pitching the Houston Astros to a 3-0 victory.

Astros starter Luis Garcia and reliever Phil Maton each threw an immaculate inning — nine pitches, three strikeouts — and Martín Maldonado keyed a six-run first inning that sent Houston over the Texas Rangers 9-2.

Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros broke out the bats just in time to extend this World Series.

APTOPIX World Series Baseball Houston Astros' Kyle Tucker scores past Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud on a single by Martin Maldonado during the seventh inning in Game 5 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Atlanta. Surely after Adam Duvall launched one into the tabled seats in right field for a grand slam in the very first inning, the Atlanta Braves would be celebrating their first World Series title since 1995. On their home field, no less, the 5-year-old stadium-slash-shopping mall where they'd been unbeatable through seven postseason games. — The Braves melting down in 1996 when a second straight championship seemed a foregone conclusion after they won the first two World Series games at Yankee Stadium. — The Braves, again, wasting a 3-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's NL Championship Series.

World Series Baseball Houston Astros' Martin Maldonado celebrates after his RBI-single during the seventh inning in Game 5 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Atlanta. The Braves are running out of at-bats to regain the lead and close out this World Series with a victory at home. Alvarez, the ALCS MVP, is 0 for 4 Sunday and 1 for 15 in the World Series. Greinke became the first pitcher with a pinch hit in the World Series since Jack Bentley had two of them in 1923. The Houston Astros have reworked their lineup for Game 5, dropping the slumping Alex Bregman from his usual third spot to seventh.

There are plenty of stars at this World Series, from Freddie Freeman to Jose Altuve.

World Series Baseball Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried leaves the game during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay)HOUSTON — (AP) — Max Fried was pitching like the lefty ace he has been most of this season for the Atlanta Braves, retiring 10 batters in a row in his first World Series start. The only problem was that it came after a horrendous four-run second inning that put the Houston Astros ahead to stay, and sent Fried to his second consecutive loss at a time when the Braves really need him the most. Overall, it was another postseason dud for Fried. That was the first time since June 1 that Fried didn't make it past the fifth inning.

Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried had a stretch in his first World Series start when he looked like the ace he has been most of the season.

Carlos Correa struck out to start the Astros second before Kyle Tucker, Yuli Gurriel, rookie José Siri and Martin Maldonado all had singles. ___7:35 p.m.José Altuve has helped give the Houston Astros their first lead of the World Series. Morton’s right fibula was broken by a 102 mph drive off the bat of Houston’s Yuli Gurriel in the World Series opener. But he got a chance to contribute in the ALCS and in the World Series with Meyers out with a shoulder injury. ___2:15 p.m.Left-hander Tucker Davidson has replaced injured pitcher Charlie Morton on the Atlanta Braves’ World Series roster.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip)A funny thing about this year’s likely MVPs — none were valuable enough to push their teams into the postseason. Other big names remain — Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge are plenty familiar to fall audiences. Of course, they were all there last year, too, when Tampa Bay rookie Randy Arozarena stole the show. After hitting 21 homers combined in his first three big league seasons, the 26-year-old Canadian had 34 to form a dangerous mid-order trio with All-Stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. A 6-foot-1 rookie with tree-trunk legs, Garcia was 11-8 with a 3.30 ERA over 30 games, including 28 starts.

With Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper and the rest of baseball's MVP front-runners left out of the postseason, there's a chance for some budding stars to cement their place among the game's top names.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the 12th inning and the Houston Astros, after throwing out Shohei Ohtani at the plate to preserve a tie, broke away to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 9-5.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Lance McCullers Jr. and the Houston Astros couldn't quiet the hecklers at Dodger Stadium, but they silenced the Los Angeles hitters. Fans threw back Astros home runs in batting practice. The booing and chants only got louder, but the fans made more noise than the LA bats. This was the first chance Dodgers fans had to unload on the Astros in person at Chavez Ravine since their sign-stealing scandal was revealed late in 2019. Houston beat LA in the 2017 World Series, winning Game 7 at Dodger Stadium.

Astros Dodgers Baseball A ball girl removes an inflatable item in the shape of a trash can behind Houston Astros right fielder Michael Brantley during the first inning of the Astros' baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (Marcio Jose Sanchez)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Lance McCullers Jr. threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and the Houston Astros withstood the raucous, heckling fans at Dodger Stadium to blank Los Angeles 3-0 Tuesday night. The jeering started early as the crowd in the upper deck and bleachers shouted “Cheaters!” at Houston players during warmups and threw back Astros homers in batting practice. The booing and chants only got louder, but the fans made more noise than the LA bats. Houston beat LA in the 2017 World Series, winning Game 7 at Dodger Stadium.

Patrick Sandoval had his no-hit bid broken up with one out in the ninth inning on a soft double by rookie Brent Rooker, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1.

Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, setting off a frenzied celebration and lifting the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees 8-7.

Astros Yankees Baseball Houston Astros' Alex Bregman, center, watches as New York Yankees' Rougned Odor, left, and Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, right, react to being injured on a play at home plate during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in New York. In Houston's first visit to the Bronx since their sign-stealing scam was exposed, an error by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the sixth inning let New York blow the game open. A pandemic-limited, sellout crowd of 10,850 skipped subtle barbs for salty language, aimed especially at 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve. The Yankees have won 9 of 12 and improved to 15-14, their first time over .500 since they were 3-2. Yankees: 1B Luke Voit (left knee surgery) was 2 for 3 with a double as he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boos and bad words streamed loudly from the seats in the Houston Astros’ return to Yankee Stadium, and New York got a homer and four hits from Giancarlo Stanton to sate those spiteful fans with a 7-3 victory.

Shohei Ohtani’s tiebreaking solo home run in the eighth inning helped the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros to snap a four-game skid.

Austin Gomber got his first victory for the Colorado Rockies, allowing two hits over six innings to beat the Astros 6-3 on a wintry afternoon and send Houston to its ninth loss in 10 games.

Oakland Athletics' Chad Pinder, right, celebrates with manager Bob Melvin after the Athletics defeated the Houston Astros in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. And just in case Laureano's words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A's got a pair of sacrifice flies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. “It was awesome.”Houston leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland's fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall. Houston took a 7-4 lead with five runs in the fifth, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, and George Springer celebrate after the Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics in Game 2 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. The Houston Astros can't miss these days. “With every victory, the energy and the confidence grows,” first-year Houston manager Dusty Baker said. Five of Springer’s postseason homers have come at Dodger Stadium, where the Astros beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. The scandal led to season-long suspensions of Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, who both were fired.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, and George Springer, center, jump in celebration of the Astros 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in Game 1 of an American League wild-card baseball series, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. They know what it’s like," said manager Dusty Baker, after the Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. It didn’t go my way,” said Romo, who has three World Series rings with San Francisco and pitched in his 30th career postseason game. Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting until after the game to announce their starter for Game 2, though Valdez's appearance took him out of the mix.