Jake Odorizzi carried a shutout into the seventh inning, three relievers finished it off, and Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena slugged home runs as the host Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-0 on Monday.

The Astros ended a two-game losing streak while the Mariners lost for the fifth time in six games in the opener of a three-game series.

Odorizzi (2-2) produced a second consecutive quality start for the Astros, following an appearance against the Texas Rangers where he retired the final 12 batters he faced. On Monday, he logged 6 2/3 innings, his longest outing since joining Houston prior to last season.

Odorizzi allowed faced the minimum in each of his first five frames, inducing inning-ending double plays from Jesse Winker in the first and Julio Rodriguez in the fifth to eliminate baserunners.

Rodriguez also reached on a single with two outs in the second but was erased by catcher Martin Maldonado while attempting to swipe second base.

In the seventh, Odorizzi retired the first two batters before walking Eugenio Suarez. He was lifted at that point, having surrendered four hits and one walk while striking out three. Odorizzi threw 89 pitches, 55 for strikes.

Ryne Stanek came on and walked J.P Crawford before striking out Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Astros mounted a threat against Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales (1-3) in the first but came away empty. Gonzales struck out Alvarez and got Yuli Gurriel on a grounder with two runners in scoring position to end the first.

But Alvarez got the better of Gonzales leading off the fourth, snapping a scoreless deadlock by bashing his seventh home run 374 feet out to right field.

Gonzales wiggled out of further trouble, however, stranding Yuli Gurriel at second after he followed the home run with a double.

Gonzales’ good fortune ran out in the sixth when Pena followed another leadoff single from Tucker with his fifth home run, a 422-foot blast to left-center field with a 106.2 exit velocity.

In six innings, Gonzales allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Right-handers Stanek, Hector Neris and Rafael Montero completed the shutout, with Montero earning his second save by getting Suarez to roll into a game-ending double play.

–Field Level Media

The slumping Boston Red Sox will look to get back on track against the Los Angeles Angels in a three-game series that begins Tuesday.

The Red Sox are returning home after going 3-7 during a 10-game trip through Tampa Bay, Toronto and Baltimore. The Angels, coming off a four-game split against the host Chicago White Sox, have won seven of their past nine games.

Before an off day on Monday, Boston dropped two of three games over the weekend against the Orioles. In the series finale, Baltimore scored all of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings on the way to a 9-5 win.

“A tough one, but it is what it is. Nothing has changed in our mind,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We still (have) a good team that has to work. Do we have to work a little harder now? Yeah, of course. We’re still good. … We’ve got to get going.”

J.D. Martinez went 3-for-5 with a ninth-inning grand slam to extend his hit streak to five games. Rafael Devers has hit in eight straight.

The Red Sox lost four one-run games during the trip, three of them in 10 innings.

“One thing I would say is if we go through a stretch like this in June or July, it’s something that’s really common, but it gets so blown up at the start of the season,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. “When everyone gets hot at the same time, it’s going to be a beautiful thing to witness.”

Looking to get Boston back on track is righty Michael Wacha (2-0, 1.77 ERA), who won each of his past two starts. He allowed one run on four hits in six innings in a 7-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Wacha made his only career start against the Angels with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 21, 2019. He pitched six innings of one-run ball and earned a win.

The Angels close a seven-game trip with the series in Boston, starting Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 2.12 ERA) for the first time since April 23. His scheduled Friday outing against the White Sox was moved due to an illness.

Syndergaard is the first pitcher to work at least five innings and allow two or fewer runs in each of his first three starts as an Angel since Andrew Heaney in 2015. He is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in two career starts (13 2/3 innings) against Boston.

The Angels’ pitching plan beyond Tuesday is in question, however. Shohei Ohtani left the Sunday game due to right groin tightness, and Angels trainer Mike Frostad said the injury wasn’t severe enough to require an MRI.

Despite minimal concern from manager Joe Maddon, Ohtani wasn’t in Monday’s lineup after telling reporters that he expected to be, but he did pinch-hit. Maddon still hopes to have the reigning American League MVP pitch before the end of the series.

“We’re just going to wait a day or two to figure that out,” Maddon said of Ohtani returning to the rotation.

Los Angeles was shut out twice during the four-game set in Chicago, capped by a truly ugly performance on offense Monday. The Angels managed just two hits and no walks while striking out 15 times in a 3-0 loss.

Mike Trout fanned three times against the same pitcher, Dylan Cease, for the first time since 2016 and struck out four times total in the game.

“We actually pitched really well (Monday),” Maddon said. “They just pitched better. Cease was outstanding, and that’s as good as I’ve seen (Liam) Hendriks in a while. They were both virtually unhittable today. …

“We pitched and played well. They beat us.”

–Field Level Media

The slumping Kansas City Royals will try to revive their offense when they host the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday.

The Royals wasted a strong pitching performance by Zack Greinke while falling 1-0 to the Cardinals Monday in their rescheduled game in St. Louis. They have scored just six runs during their four-game losing streak.

Kansas City has lost nine of 11 games — three by shutout — heading into this two-game set at Kauffman Stadium.

Royals manager Mike Matheny senses frustration mounting. Through 21 games the Royals hit .212 as a team and ranked last in the major leagues in runs scored (63).

“Yeah, I mean, they see their stats,” Matheny said. “They see our collective … our standing, where we are right now with our record. They’re not happy with it, either. We’ve got a number of guys that aren’t swinging how they want to swing it, and they all take a lot of pride in that they want to help get this thing rolling, ‘do my piece.’ That’s what we’re preaching: Just do your part and hand it off to the next guy.”

Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller (0-2, 2.19 ERA) has suffered from poor run support this season. His teammates have scored just three times for him in his 24 2/3 innings.

Keller allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings in his last start, a game the Royals eventually won 5-2 over the Chicago White Sox in 10 innings.

In that game Keller induced 12 groundouts and completed each of his seven innings in 15 pitches or less.

“That was complete-game stuff,” Matheny said after that game. “We give him a little bit more offense, and he’s finishing that game.”

Keller is 1-4 with a 4.99 ERA in seven career appearances against the Cardinals, including five starts.

Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson (2-1, 2.75 ERA) is also coming off a strong performance. He held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one hit in six scoreless innings on April 28. Prior to that, he held the Cincinnati Reds scoreless on two hits in 6 2/3 innings.

“The last two outings, I’ve thrown well but I’ve also had incredible defense,” Hudson said.

The Royals roughed up Hudson earlier this season, though, getting a two-run homer by Michael A. Taylor and a solo shot from Salvador Perez on April 12. The Cardinals ultimately won that game 6-5.

Overall Hudson is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four career appearances against the Royals, including three starts.

The Cardinals have won two games in a row and four of their last six. But they have scored two or fewer runs in six of their last nine games.

“We haven’t been scoring,” Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt told Bally Sports Midwest. “We’re going to keep working, hopefully start playing a little better offensively and try to keep winning some games.

“The pitching has been picking us up. Hopefully we’ll play well on this road trip and going forward.”

–Field Level Media

It’s not surprising that the Chicago Cubs have a losing record while nearing the one-month point of the season.

It was certainly less predicted than the crosstown foe Chicago White Sox owning the same mark.

With each club sitting 9-13 and trying to win back-to-back games for the first time in more than two weeks, the visiting White Sox will look to continue their recent success over the Cubs on Tuesday night.

Coming off a 91-loss season and with few notable offseason acquisitions to strengthen their roster, the Cubs have lost nine of 12 following a 6-4 start. They’ve also managed five runs combined in the last four games and dropped five of six at home. The Cubs last won consecutive games April 17-18.

However, the Cubs have positives to build upon after Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Milwaukee. Marcus Stroman, their biggest offseason pickup, allowed two hits over seven innings while Patrick Wisdom — 4-for-12 in the last three games — clubbed his fourth home run.

“We’ve got a group that I believe can win a lot of baseball games,” Cubs manager David Ross told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“We try to win every game, but you can assess where you’re at, what kind of month you had, and try to improve.”

And although the White Sox lead this all-time city series 70-64, swept all three games at Wrigley Field last season and won seven of the last nine there, the rivalry is special for both clubs and their fan bases.

“I love that series,” Ross added. “It’s fun for the environment at Wrigley and on the South Side.”

The White Sox were favored to repeat as AL Central champions and started 6-2. However, they’ve averaged 2.6 runs, batted .206 and homered 10 times while going 3-11 since.

But, like the Cubs, the White Sox have some momentum after Dylan Cease allowed one hit and struck out 11 over seven innings in their 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. They last won two in a row April 15-16.

“Keep building off this win, keep competing with the crosstown coming up,” White Sox star Tim Anderson, who is 8-for-17 in the last four games.

“It’s always fun to compete with the guys from across town.”

Michael Kopech (0-0, 1.42 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox on Tuesday. The right-hander has allowed three earned runs and struck out 18 with nine walks over 19 innings of his four starts.

However, Kopech has not lasted past the fifth inning in any start and received eight runs of support while physically on the mound in 2022.

Kopech will make his first start against the Cubs, who counter with Drew Smyly (1-2, 2.79 ERA). The left-hander threw 9 2/3 scoreless innings in his first two starts of the season, but he has allowed six runs, with four homers, through the same amount of innings to lose two since.

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu is 6-for-11 with two doubles and a homer versus Smyly. Abreu has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games. He is batting .423 (11-for-26) with seven home runs and 10 RBIs during a six-game hitting streak at Wrigley Field.

Meanwhile, Cubs rookie Seiya Suzuki gets his first taste of this series. The NL Rookie of the Month for April, Suzuki batted .429 in his first 10 games, but .182 in the last 12.

–Field Level Media

Travis d’Arnaud continued to torment his former team Monday night, when the Braves catcher had three hits and three RBIs in Atlanta’s 5-2 win over the host New York Mets in the opener of a four-game series.

The Braves snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled within five games of the National League East-leading Mets, who have won a franchise-record seven straight series to open the season.

The Mets played without manager Buck Showalter, who was suspended one game just before first pitch after Major League Baseball ruled New York’s Yoan Lopez threw purposely at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber on Sunday night.

d’Arnaud, who played for the Mets from 2013 until early in the 2019 season, singled in the second for the Braves’ first hit off Chris Bassitt (3-2) and popped out in the fourth before he tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth by flicking an opposite-field RBI double just fair down the first base line.

Ozzie Albies, who went to third on the double, scored the go-ahead run on Adam Duvall’s sacrifice fly. d’Arnaud was thrown out trying to advance to third for the final out of the inning, but he redeemed himself with an insurance two-run, two-out double to left field in the eighth.

d’Arnaud, a career .252 hitter, is hitting .469 (15-for-32) with three homers and 14 RBIs in nine games against the Mets.

Another Mets tormentor, Austin Riley, homered in the fourth for the Braves’ first run. Riley has 12 homers against New York, his most against any opponent.

Max Fried (3-2) earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts over six innings. The Mets loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh against Tyler Matzek, but Collin McHugh struck out Mark Canha before A.J. Minter threw a perfect eighth inning. Kenley Jansen worked around a one-out single by Starling Marte in the ninth to earn his seventh save.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second, when Marte doubled, took third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch, and third, when Canha homered.

Bassitt allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight over seven innings.

–Field Level Media

Gleyber Torres hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning as the surging New York Yankees pushed their winning streak to 10 games with a 3-2 victory over the host Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

Giancarlo Stanton opened the ninth with a single to center off Yimi Garcia (0-2), and pinch runner Tim Locastro stole second. After Garcia retired former Blue Jays player Josh Donaldson and fanned Aaron Hicks, Torres gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead by lining a first-pitch curveball to center field to easily score Locastro.

The Yankees have a double-digit winning streak for the second straight season. They also won 13 straight last August.

Torres supplied New York’s other two runs as well, swatting a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The Yankees are off to a 17-6 start, their best since opening 2003 with 19 wins in 23 games.

Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman had RBI hits in the bottom of the fourth for Toronto, which dropped to 9-3 in one-run games this season. George Springer and Bichette had two hits apiece, but Toronto was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

New York left-hander Jordan Montgomery allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in five-plus innings, and four relievers followed.

Jonathan Loaisiga entered in the sixth after a leadoff single by Bichette. Loaisiga walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on four pitches but got Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to hit into a double play, then fanned Chapman to end the inning.

In the seventh, Miguel Castro left with runners on second and third with two out, and Clay Holmes (2-0) came on to retire Springer to end the threat.

He also worked the eighth, giving up two singles but ending the rally by getting Chapman to hit into a double play.

Chad Green fanned two in a perfect ninth inning for his first save. He used his curveball to get Alejandro Kirk on a called strike three, blew a fastball by Santiago Espinal for a strikeout and retired Raimel Tapia on a fly ball.

Toronto’s Ross Stripling allowed two runs on five hits in four innings. He struck out three and walked none.

Torres put the Yankees up 2-0 when he lifted a 1-1 fastball over the right-center field fence for his third homer. It came after a single by Donaldson.

Springer opened the home fourth with a single and easily scored from first on Bichette’s double to the warning track in left. After Bichette moved to third on a groundout, Chapman ripped a single just over the reach of Torres at second.

–Field Level Media

Chris Paddack worked into the sixth inning with another strong start, and this time he was rewarded for it as the Minnesota Twins defeated the host Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Carlos Correa drove in the tiebreaking run with a sixth-inning single as Minnesota won for the 10th time in its last 11 games despite managing just seven hits.

The Orioles were trying to reach a three-game winning streak for the first time this season, but they collected only four hits. It was the fourth time in the past six games that Baltimore failed to register more than two runs.

Paddack (1-2) gave up one run, four hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings while striking out three. It was his third consecutive solid start, but he finally collected his first victory as a member of the Twins after spending the past three seasons with the San Diego Padres.

Relievers Joe Smith, Griffin Jax, Emilio Pagan and Jhoan Duran followed Paddack. Duran earned his first major league save with a perfect ninth.

The Orioles didn’t have a hit in the last three innings, with just one batter reaching base.

Bryan Baker (1-1) took the loss in relief of Tyler Wells, who allowed one run on four hits without a walk in five innings. Wells struck out four.

The Twins’ lone extra-base hit was Trevor Larnach’s fifth-inning double. He scored on Ryan Jeffers’ single for the game’s first run.

The Orioles pulled even in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ramon Urias after Rougned Odor tripled to begin the frame.

The winning run came when Byron Buxton led off the sixth with a single off Baker and moved to second on a groundout before Correa’s hit.

It was a quiet night on offense for the Twins, who scored nine runs in each of their past two games in wins at Tampa Bay.

Jose Miranda made his major league debut, playing third base for the Twins. He went 0-for-4 while holding the sixth spot in the batting order.

No player in the game had more than one hit.

–Field Level Media