Kyle Tucker hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to lead the Houston Astros to a 7-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday.
Houston trailed 2-0 before mounting a six-run attack in that fifth inning. Venezuelan José Altuve doubled and scored on a single by Cuban Yuli Gurriel.
Another Cuban, Yordan Álvarez, followed with a single and Alex Bregman walked to load the bases. After Tucker looked bad swinging Sam Moll’s slider at 82 mph to make it 1-2, the lefty found the same pitch.
This time, the ball landed in the right field seats.
Tucker’s 21st home run of the season gave Houston a 5-2 lead. After Moll (2-1) was relieved, Aledmys Diaz singled and Jeremy Pena added a double to keep the offense going and stretch the lead to 6-2.
Luis García (9-8) worked six innings, in which he allowed four runs and eight hits. The Venezuelan had six strikeouts and snapped a three-game losing streak.
For the Athletics, the Dominican Ramón Laureano 5-1 with an RBI. Puerto Rican Vimael Machín 4-2 with two runs scored.
For the Astros, the Venezuelan Altuve 4-1 with a run scored. The Cubans Gurriel 4-1 with a run scored and one produced, Álvarez 3-1 with a run scored, Díaz 4-2 with a run scored. The Dominican Peña 4-3 with a run scored. Puerto Rican Christian Vázquez 4-0. Honduran Mauricio Dubón 2-0 with an RBI.