Pete Alonso homers, Shane Baz earns first win as Orioles defeat Astros 5-3

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Alonso homered, Adley Rutschman drove in two runs, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Houston Astros 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Shane Baz allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to earn his first victory since Baltimore acquired him from Tampa Bay in December as the Orioles won the opener of a three-game series.

Brice Matthews hit his first home run since March 30 as part of a three-hit night for Houston, which fell to 11-19 and is tied for a season-high eight games under .500. The Astros were was 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

Alonso blasted an opposite-field two-run homer off Ryan Weiss in the fifth inning to extend Baltimore’s lead to 4-1. It was Alonso’s fourth homer since signing a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles in December.

Baz (1-2) surrendered Matthews’ solo homer in the fifth but didn’t allow another Astro past second. The right-hander yielded six hits and struck out six.

Houston’s Dustin Harris had an RBI triple and later scored on Matthews’ single against Anthony Nunez in the eighth.

Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in as many opportunities.

Rutschman drove in Henderson with a one-out single in the first inning, then came around two batters later on Samuel Basallo’s double to right. Rutschman also had an RBI single in the seventh.

Kai-Wei Teng (1-2) made his first start for Houston and allowed two runs and five hits in three innings. He struck out two.

Houston RHP Peter Lambert (1-1, 3.27 ERA) faces Baltimore for the first time while the Orioles counter with RHP Chris Bassitt (1-2, 6.75) as the series continues.

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