Astros use 4-run third inning to race past Dodgers

Yainer Diaz hit a home run and Framber Valdez recovered from a wobbly start as the visiting Houston Astros followed a blowout victory Friday with a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Zack Short had a two-run double in a four-run third inning as the Astros had no problem finding more offense one day after an 18-1 victory in L.A.
Valdez (10-4) gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings with seven strikeouts to hold off the Dodgers, who lost consecutive games for the first time since June 6-7. Houston’s Josh Hader finished the eighth and completed the ninth as well for his 25th save.
Shohei Ohtani made his fourth start of the season for the Dodgers and went two scoreless innings on 31 pitches. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (4-3) followed by allowing five runs (four earned) over 4 2/3 innings.
Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas each hit home runs for the Dodgers, who had won 15 of 18 games before Houston arrived in town.
The Dodgers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, getting a home run from Betts in the first inning, his 11th, before Rojas made it 2-0 in the second on an RBI single. Betts’ home run was his second in three games after not hitting one in 20 consecutive contests.
With Ohtani no longer on the mound in the third inning, the Astros went to work on Wrobleski. Short belted a two-run double to tie the game before Cam Smith and Christian Walker each had RBI singles to complete the four-run frame.
Houston made it 5-2 in the fourth inning when Diaz hit his 11th home run of the year to right-center.
Rojas brought Los Angeles within a run in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run homer off the top of the wall in left-center, his fourth of the season.
In the seventh, Betts led off for the Dodgers with a hit to left field that got past the Astros’ Cooper Hummel and rolled to the wall. Betts, though, was thrown out trying to take third base on the miscue.
The Astros padded their lead to 6-4 in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to left field by Victor Caratini.