PHIL MATON

Yordan Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Justin Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Houston Astros clinched a postseason berth with a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings for his MLB-leading 15th victory, Chas McCormick and Martin Maldonado each homered and had three RBIs, and the AL West-leading Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-0.

Angels starter Reid Detmers became the first rookie pitcher with a no-hitter and an immaculate inning in the same season, achieving the latter against the Texas Rangers on Sunday.

Cole Irvin allowed four hits over seven innings and the Oakland Athletics beat Houston Astros 4-2 for their first winning sweep in 32 series this season.

Justin Verlander struck out 10 in six scoreless innings to post his MLB-leading 12th win as the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0.

Even the mighty Houston Astros are not immune to occasional bouts of comprehensive ineptitude, as they demonstrated while blowing a four-run lead in the seventh inning Tuesday night with two errors, a hit batter with the bases loaded and a passed ball. The Astros still had plenty of time to recover against an opponent that's been largely inept for two full months now. Kyle Tucker delivered a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning, and the Astros rallied for a 6-5 victory over the spiraling Los Angeles Angels.

Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against Houston in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game, beating Houston 6-3 to split a four-game series between the AL’s best teams.

Justin Verlander pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer and the Houston Astros beat the Yankees 3-1 to stop New York’s 15-game home winning streak.

The Tampa Bay Rays came into the season with Wander Franco at shortstop, Brandon Lowe at second base and Mike Zunino behind the plate.

Astros Rangers Baseball Houston Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (LM Otero)ARLINGTON, Texas — (AP) — 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 Wednesday. Garcia (4-5) struck out nine without a walk over six innings while limiting Texas to two runs and four hits. The only AL West team with a winning record, Houston (39-24) had lost four of five after dropping the series opener. Left-hander Framber Valdez (6-3, 2.64 ERA) starts the series opener Friday night.

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.

Two Houston pitchers had immaculate innings against the Texas Rangers, striking out three batters on nine pitches.

The Atlanta Braves lead the World Series three games to two and will try to win the championship Tuesday night when Max Fried starts against the Astros in Houston.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis) (Ashley Landis)ATLANTA — (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local):11: p.m. 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.

A guy who spent most of the season in the minors kept the Braves in it.

Rookie Luis García showed the poise of an October ace, MVP Yordan Alvarez stayed hot at the plate and the Houston Astros earned yet another trip to the World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.

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.

José Altuve hit a grand slam in the sixth one inning after putting Houston ahead on a solo homer, and the AL-leading Houston Astros held off the San Francisco Giants 9-6 in a matchup of baseball’s top two teams.

Prized prospect Jarred Kelenic made his first major league hit memorable with a two-run homer and later added a pair of doubles, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 7-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.