Verlander, Altuve help Astros beat Angels

Houston: Justin Verlander pitched seven sharp innings, AL MVP Jose Altuve hit his first home run of the season and the Houston Astros beat the Angels 5-2 on Wednesday, ending Los Angeles’ road winning streak at a team record-tying 11.

Albert Pujols connected off Verlander for his 619th career homer. Pujols has 2,994 hits.

Alex Bregman hit a three-run double and Jake Marisnick homered as Houston avoided a three-game sweep. The Angels also won 11 straight road games in 1988.

Verlander (4-0) held the Angels hitless into the fifth inning. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out nine without a walk. Verlander won his 11th regular-season decision in a row.

Ken Giles pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Nick Tropeano (1-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced, striking out six.

Indians reliever Andrew Miller exited with tightness in his hamstring in the 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs and could miss a few days.

Miller grabbed the back of his leg after throwing two pitches to Anthony Rizzo in the seventh inning.

Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion hit sixth-inning home runs off Jon Lester (2-1).

Miller relieved Trevor Bauer (2-2) with a runner on first and Cleveland leading 3-1. Cody Allen pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Rays lefty Jonny Venters returned to the majors after a six-year absence and his fourth major elbow surgery, retiring the lone batter he faced in an 8-4 win over Baltimore.

The 33-year-old Venters has had three Tommy John surgeries. He was promoted from Triple-A earlier in the day, and got Chris Davis on a grounder.

Venters then received a warm greeting in the Tampa Bay dugout, which seemed to be the perfect end to what the 2011 NL All-Star earlier called “an emotional day.”

Joey Wendle had three hits and two RBIs, Adeiny Hechavarria homered and the Tampa Bay beat former teammate Alex Cobb (0-3). In his three starts since signing a four-year, $57 million contract with Baltimore, Cobb has yielded 17 runs and 30 hits.

Rookie Andrew Kittredge (1-2) got two outs in the fifth to earn his first major league win. The Orioles have lost 10 of 11.

Results

Astros 5, Angels 2

Indians 4, Cubs 1

Rays 8, Orioles 4

Braves 5, Reds 4

Marlins 8, Dodgers 6

Brewers 6, Royals 2

Yankees 7, Twins 4

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3

Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 3

Nationals 15, Giants 2