Hunter Brown allowed two hits over seven shutout innings and Isaac Paredes drove in three runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over the host Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.

Jeremy Pena was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Paredes was 2-for 4 for the Astros, who have won five straight, including the first two of the three-game weekend series.

The White Sox, who managed five hits, have lost three of their last four.

They threatened in the eighth with runners on second and third and two out, but reliever Bennett Sousa replaced Bryan Abreu and retired pinch hitter Randal Grichuk on a popout to first.

After Colson Montgomery’s RBI single in the ninth, Josh Hader came in to get the last two outs for his 12th save.

Brown (2-1) finished strong, setting down 12 consecutive batters from the fourth through seventh innings. The right-hander did not walk a batter and struck out seven as he fired 60 strikes in 90 pitches.

Chicago starter Sean Burke (7-5) surrendered three runs (two earned) on four hits in six innings with a walk and 10 strikeouts.

It was a 0-0 pitcher’s duel through five with Burke also retiring 12 in a row, from the second through the fifth, but heading for trouble.

The streak was broken when Burke hit Cam Smith with a pitch to lead off the sixth. Pena’s single and a walk to Yordan Alvarez loaded the bases. Paredes then grounded a single to right that got past right fielder Braden Montgomery for an error that also allowed Alvarez to score for a 3-0 Houston lead as Paredes reached third.

Burke then limited the damage by getting Jose Altuve on a groundout and striking out LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Walker.

Paredes added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-0.

White Sox left fielder Sam Antonnaci robbed Paredes, who was leading off the fourth, of a likely home run with a leaping catch of his long drive by pulling the ball in just above the fence.

–Field Level Media

Alejandro Alvarado scored his first MLS goal in the 50th minute and San Diego FC made it hold up for a 1-0 victory over visiting FC Dallas on Saturday night.

CJ dos Santos was called on to make just one save while recording his first shutout of the season for San Diego FC (5-7-5, 20 points).

Jonathan Sirois made four saves for Dallas (7-5-5, 26 points) after replacing injured starter Daniel, who had three stops.

San Diego FC held possession nearly 70% of the match to improve to 3-0-1 against FC Dallas in their two-season history.

Alvarado had the ball from beyond the box early in the second half and unleashed a long right-footed shot into the right corner of the net to break a scoreless tie.

Two minutes later, FC Dallas put its only shot on target but Petar Musa’s close-range header was saved by dos Santos.

Omni Valakari had a solid chance for San Diego in the 59th minute, but his left-footed shot caromed off the right goalpost.

Anderson Julio of Dallas broke in toward the net in hopes of receiving the ball in the 72th minute and dos Santos came out to break up the play. That left Santiago Moreno with an open net to shoot at, but he chipped his right-footed attempt over the net.

San Diego almost gifted FC Dallas the tying goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

Manu Duah made an errant pass back into the midfield and gave Dallas’ Logan Farrington a chance to dash in toward dos Santos. But Duah sprinted back toward the San Diego net and he was able to get his foot in and block Farrington’s right-footed shot to thwart the opportunity.

One minute later, the match was called.

San Diego outshot Dallas 19-7 and held an 8-1 edge in shots on target.

Dallas lost Daniel after he made a point-black save in the 16th minute on Valakari.

Daniel’s right leg bent awkwardly as he stretched to stymie Valakari and he remained down in pain. Trainers eventually helped him walk off the field and Sirois entered as the new goalie in the 19th minute.

San Diego outshot Dallas 13-2 in the first half but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Marcus Ingvartsen had a big opportunity in the 32nd minute, but his close-range right-footed shot was stopped by Sirois.

–Field Level Media

Nick Loftin hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth, Salvador Perez set the franchise home run record and the visiting Kansas City Royals squeaked by the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Saturday.

Perez’s seventh-inning blast was his 318th career homer, surpassing Hall of Famer George Brett on the franchise’s all-time list. It was also Perez’s 31st homer against the Tigers.

Loftin broke a 2-2 deadlock when he pulled an 0-2 pitch from Jacob Waguespack (0-1) over the left field wall. Riley Greene led off the bottom of the ninth with a single but the Tigers failed to plate the tying run, resulting in their three-game win streak getting snapped.

Hao-Yu Lee drove in both Detroit runs with a double and a solo homer. Tigers starter Casey Mize gave up one run and three hits in six innings. Royals starter Michael Wacha lasted seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits.

Padres 7, Marlins 2

Ty France drove in three runs to help visiting San Diego hand Miami its franchise-record-tying 11th straight loss in the middle game of their three-game series.

Jackson Merrill had two doubles, a single and scored two runs, and Jake Cronenworth had a single, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored for the Padres. San Diego opener Randy Vasquez and bulk reliever JP Sears (3-3) combined to allow one run on two hits over six innings.

Esteury Ruiz had two hits and scored both of the Marlins’ runs. Eury Perez (5-8) went seven innings, allowing three runs and seven hits before Dax Fulton was tagged for four runs over the final two innings. Miami has dropped 11 in a row three other times in team history, most recently in June of 2011.

Yankees 3, Phillies 1

Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez homered and Ryan Weathers worked into the sixth as New York continued host Philadelphia’s post-All-Star break swoon.

Cody Bellinger knocked in the go-ahead run for the Yankees, who have won five of their last six games. Weathers (4-7) allowed one run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out seven. He surrendered a run in the first after hitting Trea Turner, giving up a double to Kyle Schwarber, then yielding Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly before stranding Schwarber on third.

Philadelphia got two scoreless innings out of opener Tim Mayza before 32-year-old Brian Keller made his major league debut, allowing one run over three innings. In all, seven pitchers took the mound for the Phillies, who fell to 2-6 since the All-Star break.

Dodgers 4, Mets 3

Kyle Tucker homered for a second straight game and Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed just a run over six innings for Los Angeles, which won its fourth straight game by beating host New York.

The Dodgers outfielder, who on Friday went deep for the first time since June 27, led off the third with a 392-foot shot off Nolan McLean (7-7) that hit the right field foul pole. Bo Bichette went 2-for-5, and Tyrone Taylor hit a pinch-hit, two-run double for the Mets.

Yamamoto (11-6) could not match his last start, a complete-game victory last Sunday against the New York Yankees. Still, he was able to secure his eighth win in his last 10 starts. The right-hander struck out five against five hits and three walks.

Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 3

CJ Abrams had three hits including a home run, Foster Griffin pitched into the seventh inning and Washington ended visiting Arizona’s four-game winning streak.

Abrams tied the game with a two-run double in the third and hit his 25th home run in the fifth, giving him a major league-leading 79 RBIs. He also singled and stole his 17th base.

Griffin (12-2), a free agent at the end of the season, may have been making his final start for Washington with the trade deadline approaching. Griffin, who struck out two and walked one, allowed three runs on six hits after giving up exactly one run in each of his last eight starts. Clayton Beeter pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.

Giants 9, Angels 2

Jung Hoo Lee lifted a three-run home run as part of a five-run third inning, Rafael Devers homered for the second consecutive day and host San Francisco made it two straight over Los Angeles.

Robbie Ray (9-6) threw six shutout innings for the Giants, who followed up a walk-off win by scoring nine runs in the rematch’s first four innings. Lee’s homer capped a lead-creating third that began with by Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos, followed by RBI singles from Devers and Casey Schmitt. Arraez also singled in the fourth before Devers launched a three-run shot that made it 9-0.

Angels starter Ryan Johnson (2-5) was pulled one out into the fourth, eventually charged with eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Los Angeles avoided a shutout in the seventh when Mike Trout, who had two earlier singles, grounded into a bases-loaded double play, scoring Jose Siri.

Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 0

Dylan Cease threw a one-hitter and George Springer hit a three-run home run as visiting Toronto beat Boston. The teams will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday. Boston is 11-2 in its last 13 games against the American League East and has won 16 of its last 18.

Cease (7-5), who took a no-hitter into the ninth against the San Francisco Giants on July 8, only allowed four Red Sox hitters to reach base. He was perfect until walking Caleb Durbin with two outs in the fifth and didn’t allow a hit through five innings.

Boston starter Sonny Gray (12-2) gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. The right-hander didn’t walk anyone and struck out three on 75 pitches.

Orioles 3, Braves 2

Dylan Beavers singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as Baltimore beat visiting Atlanta.

Gunnar Henderson added his 18th homer to help the Orioles even the series at one game apiece after failing to hold a late-game lead for the second straight day. Brandon Young allowed one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Ozzie Albies homered for the Braves, who lost for only the third time in their last 10 games as Didier Fuentes (4-1) took his first loss of the season in his 35th appearance.

Cubs 11, Pirates 0

Pete Crow-Armstrong filled the box score, going 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, a two-run home run, three RBIs and a stolen base to power Chicago to a runaway victory over host Pittsburgh.

Dansby Swanson added two hits, two runs and an RBI, while Miguel Amaya scored twice and drove in two runs. Michael Busch went 3-for-6 with two RBIs, and Seiya Suzuki also drove in two runs in the Cubs’ 16-hit attack.

That was well more than needed for Shota Imanaga (7-8), who threw six shutout innings and allowed four hits. Javier Assad earned his first save with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit while walking none and striking out three. Pirates starter Paul Skenes (9-9) gave up five runs on six hits, walked two and struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings.

Rays 3, Guardians 0

Nick Martinez tossed six shutout innings and Yandy Diaz recorded his 1,000th career hit with Tampa Bay as the Rays shut out Cleveland in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Martinez (10-2) allowed four singles with no walks and five strikeouts. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.45, second-best in the American League. Bryan Baker worked around a one-out single in the ninth for his 27th save. Diaz lined a leadoff single to right field in the first inning against Tanner Bibee (4-10) to become the fourth player in franchise history to record 1,000 hits with the team.

The Guardians lost their fourth straight game and have scored a total of four runs in their last three. Bibee yielded three runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five while throwing a season-high 107 pitches.

Brewers 8, Rockies 5

Rookie Cooper Pratt homered and drove in three runs, Robert Gasser tossed six solid innings and host Milwaukee beat Colorado.

Luis Lara had two hits and also drove in three runs, Jake Bauers contributed two hits and scored three times and Brice Turang added two hits for the Brewers. Gasser (3-4) allowed two runs on five hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

Jake McCarthy extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a single and Kyle Karros had two hits for the Rockies.

Astros 4, White Sox 1

Hunter Brown allowed two hits over seven shutout innings and Isaac Paredes drove in three runs to lead Houston to a win over host Chicago.

Jeremy Pena was 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Astros, who have won five straight. Houston broke the game open with a three-run sixth behind Paredes’ RBI single which was made worse by Braden Montgomery’s fielding error. Brown (2-1) retired the final 12 batters he faced, and Josh Hader recorded the final two outs for his 12th save.

The White Sox, who managed five hits and scraped across their only run in the ninth on Colson Montgomery’s RBI single, have lost three of their last four. Sean Burke (7-5) worked five scoreless innings before surrendering three runs (two earned) in his sixth and final frame.

Twins 2, Athletics 0

Alan Roden delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning, and that was all Minnesota needed for a low-scoring win over the Athletics in Minneapolis.

Ryan Kreidler doubled and stole a base for Minnesota, which evened the series at one win apiece. Twins left-hander Taylor Rogers (6-3) earned the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. Rogers followed starter Kendrys Rojas, who allowed one hit in four scoreless innings.

Jeff McNeil accounted for two of the Athletics’ three hits with a pair of doubles. Bulk reliever Mason Barnett (1-1) gave up the two runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Rangers 7, Mariners 1

Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven strong innings as Texas defeated Seattle in Arlington, Texas, and increased its lead over the defending American League West champion to 2 1/2 games.

The top three batters in the Rangers’ order — Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford and Ezequiel Duran — went a combined 8-for-13 with three doubles, a triple, three RBIs and four runs. Eovaldi (10-8) allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out eight.

Texas scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the second against Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (7-7), whose road woes continued. Woo gave up five runs on nine hits over five innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. He dropped to 1-7 in away games this season with a 6.52 ERA.

Cardinals 7, Reds 0

St. Louis broke open a pitcher’s duel with a six-run sixth inning to support right-hander Andre Pallante in a shutout victory against visiting Cincinnati.

Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and Blaze Jordan all had key hits for the Cardinals, who came in having dropped seven of nine. Pallante (11-6) allowed two hits in seven innings and finished with eight strikeouts, just one shy of his career best.

The Cardinals scored an unearned run against Reds right-hander Hunter Greene in the bottom of the first inning, but poured it on in the sixth, tagging him for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. Cincinnati loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth but came up empty thanks to two strikeouts and a groundout.

–Field Level Media