Verlander nears another no-hitter, Astros rally past A’s 5-4

By BEN ROSS
Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Yordan Álvarez cleared the bases with a go-ahead double in the ninth and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 to complete a three-game sweep. Elvis Andrus broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid with an RBI double in the seventh inning that tied the game at 1. Christian Bethancourt followed with a two-run homer, his first drive since 2016, to give Oakland a 3-1 lead. Houston responded with four runs in the ninth, keyed by Álvarez’s three-run double. Aledmys Díaz and Alex Bregman also drove in runs for the Astros, who won their fourth in a row.