NEW YORK (AP) Houston’s Carlos Gomez and Evan Gattis both homered and drove in four runs to power the Astros to a 15-1 rout of the New York Yankees in Tuesday’s clash of American League divisional leaders.
The lopsided result dropped the Yankees out of top spot in the AL East division, while Kansas City maintained its giant lead in the AL Central by edging Baltimore.
In the key National League meetings, St. Louis cruised past Arizona to bolster its lead in the Central division, while the in-form Chicago Cubs continued their surge with victory at San Francisco.
Houston’s Gomez busted out of a hitting slump along with several teammates and rankled the Yankees with his flashy style.
The center fielder exchanged words with players in New York’s dugout after flipping his bat aside when he flied out in the sixth inning, then stood nose to nose with young catcher John Ryan Murphy before they were separated. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but the teams quickly went their respective ways without any contact.
His next time up, Gomez launched a three-run homer into the Yankees’ bullpen to cap a six-run seventh inning.
Astros starter Dallas Keuchel (15-6) held New York scoreless for the second time this season and became the first 15-game winner in the American League.
Kansas City relied on its bullpen to secure a 3-2 home win against Baltimore.
Royals starter Danny Duffy (7-6) dodged trouble for the most part but left with the Orioles threatening to pull ahead in the sixth inning.
Luke Hochevar calmed things down with an inning of relief. Kelvin Herrera had no trouble with the rest of the seventh and eighth, and Wade Davis pitched a perfect ninth in place of regular closer Greg Holland.
Kendrys Morales hit a solo homer while Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer also drove in runs for Kansas City.
St. Louis’ Tommy Pham had his second career three-hit game to help the Cardinals cruised past Arizona 9-1.
Just three days after his first three-hit game, Pham singled twice and got his second career triple. He scored three times.
St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia (6-4) allowed one run and one walk in six innings, striking out six, as the Cardinals boosted their lead in the NL Central back out to 4-1/2 games.
The Chicago Cubs notched a sixth straight victory with an 8-5 win at San Francisco, with Kyle Schwarber, Miguel Montero and Starlin Castro all hitting home runs.
Schwarber’s towering, three-run homer in the third inning set the tone for the Cubs, who have won 21 of 25 games to pull 7-1/2 games ahead of the Giants for the second NL wild-card spot.
Chicago starter Jake Arrieta (16-6) had his 13th consecutive quality start; the longest streak by a Cubs pitcher in 23 years. He allowed one unearned run and one walk while striking out eight over six-plus innings. He lowered his season ERA to 2.22, second in the NL.
Toronto’s Troy Tulowitzki had a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning and a throwing error gave up the winning run as the Blue Jays edged Texas 6-5.
Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson walked two of the first three batters he faced in the ninth. After a fly out, Tulowitzki looped a single to left to tie the game 5-5. Josh Donaldson then hit a high chopper to Adrian Beltre, the four-time Gold Glove third baseman who fielded the ball before a wide throw to first base.
The Blue Jays reclaimed sole leadership of the AL East while inflicting only the second blown save of the season on Tolleson (5-3), who had converted his previous 12 chances.
Minnesota extended its winning streak to five with an 11-7 result at Tampa Bay, with Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario all hitting home runs.
Dozier gave Minnesota a 7-5 advantage on a two-run drive in the fourth. It was his third homer in just 11 at-bats against Tampa Bay this season.
Miami’s major-league batting leader Dee Gordon tied a career high with four stolen bases, had two infield hits and scored twice, leading the Marlins past Pittsburgh 5-2.
Gordon scored the Marlins’ first run and reached on a bunt single to begin their three-run sixth. Gordon turned two double plays at second base and hiked his batting average to .333, and he leads the majors with 156 hits.
Miami’s Brad Hand (4-3) pitched into the ninth inning. He has a poor 7-20 record as a starter, but has won three of his past four starts.
Washington’s Stephen Strasburg allowed two hits over six innings to guide the Nationals past San Diego 8-3.
Strasburg (8-6) struck out seven and walked one and retired the final 15 batters he faced. Strasburg is 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA in his past seven starts and 5-1 in his career against the Padres.
Ryan Zimmerman hit a grand slam in the sixth for an 8-2 lead. It was his fifth career grand slam, and first in two years.
Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols homered and the Angels scored three times on wild pitches in an 8-7 victory at Detroit.
The Los Angeles Dodgers ended a five-game skid by winning 5-1 at Cincinnati, with Alex Wood holding the Reds scoreless into the ninth inning.
New York’s Michael Cuddyer hit a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning to help the Mets win 6-5 at Philadelphia, maintaining their lead atop the NL East.
Chicago rookie Trayce Thompson drove in three runs, including a go-ahead, two-run double that helped the White Sox defeat Boston 5-4.
Seattle came from five runs down to edge Oakland 6-5, with Austin Jackson’s bases-loaded, two-run single in the fifth inning capping the comeback.
Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin conceded three home runs but lasted six innings to win his season debut at home as the Indians beat Milwaukee 11-6.
Colorado capitalized on three errors by Atlanta third baseman Adonis Garcia to win 5-1 at the Braves.
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