Alex Bregman homered twice, rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti notched his first career win and the Houston Astros claimed the opener of a four-game series with the visiting Oakland Athletics 9-2 on Monday.

Bregman recorded his sixth career multi-homer game as part of a four-RBI night. He helped Houston win for the fourth time in five games while sending Oakland to a seventh loss in nine games.

Bregman, who added a double and a walk, slugged his second and third home runs while batting sixth in the order for just the fourth time this season. He clubbed a one-out solo shot off Oakland starter Ross Stripling (1-7) in the fourth inning that extended the Astros’ lead to 3-1, then led off the seventh with another shot to left field, this one off Athletics reliever Mitch Spence, to spark that two-run frame.

Bregman last homered twice in a game against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 18, 2022. It marked the seventh time this season that an Astro has produced a multi-home run game.

Arrighetti (1-4) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings. It marked the third time in his six major league starts that he allowed two runs or fewer. He threw 86 pitches, 58 for strikes.

Arrighetti stranded baserunners in the first and second innings and escaped the third unscathed when catcher Victor Caratini threw out JJ Bleday trying to swipe second base.

Meanwhile, the Astros jumped on top 2-0 on a run-scoring throwing error by Oakland first baseman Tyler Soderstrom in the second inning and an RBI double from Kyle Tucker in the third.

Soderstrom delivered an RBI single in the fourth that scored Brent Rooker and sliced the deficit to 2-1. The Athletics mounted a two-out rally in the fifth when Abraham Toro walked, stole second and scored when Bleday doubled to left.

Houston bloated its cushion in the late innings.

After Bregman opened the seventh with a shot to left, Jake Meyers walked with two outs, swiped second and came home on Jose Altuve’s single for a 5-2 lead.

The Astros added on in the eighth thanks to a two-run doubles from Bregman and Caratini.

Tucker and Yordan Alvarez posted multi-hit games for Houston, while Bleday, Rooker, Soderstrom and Max Schuemann did the same for Oakland.

Stripling gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one.

–Field Level Media