HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker had a season-best three hits and tied a career high with four RBIs as the Houston Astros beat former bench coach Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox 11-2 on Monday.
This was the first time Cora, now managing the Red Sox, had faced the Astros since being suspended in 2020 for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scheme while with the team in 2017.
Cora helped Houston win the World Series in 2017, then guided Boston to the 2018 title. He was fired by the Red Sox after his suspension, then rehired last November.
“I got suspended,” Cora said, reflecting on the scandal before the game. “That’s something that will always be on my resume and I think at the end, we all made a mistake. We all messed up, and we all are paying the price.”
Jose Urquidy (4-2) did his part in ending Boston’s three-game winning streak. He yielded three hits and one run, striking out nine in six innings in his return from the injured list.
Urquidy, who had been out since May 12 with shoulder inflammation, won his career-best fourth straight decision.
The recent struggles for Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) continued when he allowed a season-high six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings to extend his losing streak to a career-long four games. He struck out four and walked two pitching just four innings his last time out.
Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and Alex Bregman drove in two runs for Houston.
The Astros got things going by hitting three consecutive singles with no outs in the second before taking a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Jones. Myles Straw then grounded into a double play that scored another run.
Martín Maldonado singled to start Houston’s third before Altuve homered into the seats in left field to extend the lead to 4-0. That homer was the 140th of Altuve’s career, moving him past Bob Watson and into sole possession of eighth place on the franchise’s all-time list.
Altuve singled with one out in the fifth and Rodriguez walked Bregman with two outs. Colten Brewer relieved and walked Carlos Correa to load the bases, and Tucker grounded a two-run single to center to make it 6-0.
Bregman’s two-run single highlighted a five-run sixth.
Alex Verdugo hit an RBI double in the Boston sixth. Hunter Renfroe homered in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: DH Yordan Alvarez missed his fifth straight game with a sore right wrist … 1B Yuli Gurriel was out for a third consecutive game with inflammation in his left middle finger. … LHP Blake Taylor (sprained right ankle) was activated from the 10-day injured list before Monday’s game. … RHP Andre Scrubb and RHP Ralph Garza Jr. were optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to make room on the roster for Taylor and Urquidy.
UP NEXT
Boston’s Garrett Richards (4-3, 3.83 ERA) opposes Luis Garcia (3-3, 2.93) when the series continues on Tuesday night.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports