OAKLAND — Gerrit Cole pitched his third straight overpowering game, while teammates Max Stassi and Derek Fisher stunned Daniel Mengden with back-to-back, two-strike home runs with two outs in the seventh inning Wednesday afternoon, sending the visiting Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics and a sweep of their three-game series. Cole (4-1), a California native who never previously pitched in Oakland, struck out nine in six innings to run his total to 37 in his last three starts covering 21 2/3 innings. He allowed one run, which put the Astros in a 1-0 hole in the bottom of the sixth. A one-out single by Matt Joyce and RBI double by Jed Lowrie provided the game’s first scoring. The Astros, who completed a 4-2 trip, bounced right back against Mengden, who had shut out Houston on four hits before allowing the two homers. Yankees 9, Red Sox 6 Brett Gardner hit a go-ahead, two-run triple, and Aaron Judge followed with a mammoth two-run homer with one out in the eighth inning as host New York pulled out a victory over Boston. Gardner began the night with a .198 average but capped his first three-hit game of the year by lifting Craig Kimbrel’s 96 mph fastball soaring over center fielder Mookie Betts’ head to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead. Judge and Gardner each scored three runs, and Judge drove in three. Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run double for New York. Mitch Moreland, Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez homered for the Red Sox. Padres 2, Nationals 1 Matt Szczur doubled home Manuel Margot to break a seventh-inning tie, giving host San Diego a victory over Washington, preventing the Nationals from sweeping the three-game series. Margot singled for his third hit of the game opening the seventh against Trevor Gott (0-2). Margot immediately stole second and moved to third when catcher Matt Wieters’ throw bounced into center field. One out later, Szczur, who was hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, lined an RBI double to left-center. Craig Stammen (1-0) got the win after throwing two scoreless innings in relief, and Brad Hand picked up his 10th save. Phillies 11, Giants 3 Nick Pivetta pitched five shutout innings, Maikel Franco homered, and Philadelphia handily defeated visiting San Francisco. Pivetta allowed only four hits while striking out seven and walking none. Carlos Santana had three hits and a career-high-tying five RBIs while Franco added three hits as the Phillies won for the third straight time in a series that ends Thursday. Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 3 Chris Taylor reached base in his first four trips to the plate as Los Angeles proved to be opportunistic, scoring twice on wild pitches in a victory over visiting Arizona. The Dodgers didn’t collect a hit until the fourth inning, when Taylor singled, and didn’t need a hit at all to bring home any of their first four runs. Their only RBI hit in the game was Chase Utley’s two-run double in the eighth inning. Los Angeles scored on wild pitches in the fourth and sixth innings, added another run on a Kyle Farmer sacrifice fly in the sixth and one when Taylor was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth. Taylor also walked twice. Blue Jays 5, Mariners 2 Yangervis Solarte and Justin Smoak had RBI doubles to key a four-run, eighth-inning rally, and Toronto came back to defeat visiting Seattle. Orioles 5, Royals 3 Mark Trumbo’s two-run single in the eighth inning allowed Baltimore to snap a seven-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Kansas City. Braves 5, Rays 2 Julio Teheran pitched seven scoreless innings, and Atlanta beat Tampa Bay to sweep a two-game series in St. Petersburg. Angels 8, Rockies 0 Justin Upton homered for the second time in two days, and Zack Cozart and Rene Rivera also hit home runs as Los Angeles snapped host Colorado’s six-game winning streak. Pirates 6, White Sox 5 Pittsburgh overcame a four-run deficit for the second day in a row to beat host Chicago and earn a sweep of the two-game series. Cubs 13, Marlins 4 Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell homered as part of an eight-run third inning, and Chicago defeated visiting Miami. Rizzo finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Reds 2, Mets 1 (10 innings) Adam Duvall homered leading off the bottom of the 10th inning as Cincinnati earned its first home series win of the season by edging visiting New York, which continues to struggle. Indians 6, Brewers 2 Carlos Carrasco dominated on the mound with a season-high 14 strikeouts, and Tyler Naquin and Francisco Lindor each homered to help visiting Cleveland snap a four-game slide with a win against Milwaukee. Rangers 5, Tigers 4 (10 innings) Nomar Mazara hit two solo homers, including the game-winner to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning, to give host Texas a win over Detroit. — Reuters