HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Joey Loperfido hit his first major league home run and Cristian Javier pitched six scoreless innings Thursday night to help the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 8-1 and complete a four-game sweep. The victory extended Houston’s winning streak to a season-high five games. The Astros have won seven of their last eight. “The biggest thing is just everybody is executing better,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’re playing better as a team now.” Yainer Diaz hit a three-run double and Loperfido added his two-run shot off Joey Estes (1-1) in a six-run third inning that gave the Astros a big lead early. “Those are the big hits that we need to open the game up,” manager Joe Espada said. “That’s the kind of offense that we know that we’re capable of.” Javier (3-1) bounced back from a terrible performance in his prior outing to allow just two hits with eight strikeouts. The right-hander gave up seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings in his last start after returning from an 18-game absence with neck discomfort. |
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