BALTIMORE -- Dusty Baker has been around long enough to know what it takes for a team to get on a lengthy winning streak.
After watching Zack Greinke stymie the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night for Houston's ninth consecutive victory, Baker was asked to explain the reason behind the Astros' most successful run since the 2019 season.
"We're getting good starting pitching," the longtime manager declared. "That's where it starts."
Greinke took a four-hitter into the eighth inning and Myles Straw had two RBI in Houston's 3-1 win. One night earlier, starter Jake Odorizzi pitched five hitless innings to spark a 10-2 rout of the Orioles.
Greinke (8-2) allowed 1 run and 5 hits with 4 strikeouts and a walk over 71/3 innings. Facing the Orioles for the first time since 2010, the 37-year-old righty permitted only one runner past second base in lowering his ERA to 3.56.
The 18-year veteran attributed his solid outing to re-discovering his command of the fastball.
"It hasn't been that great," Greinke acknowledged. "I can't remember when it was good. It's been a while."
On this night, he was overpowering.
"The guy knows how to pitch," Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart said. "He's been getting outs and doing this for a long, long time. He keeps you off balance with fastball, curveball, changeup."
Brooks Raley got two strikeouts in the eighth and Ryan Pressly finished for his 11th save in 12 tries.
Straw hit a solo shot in the second inning and singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh before Chas McCormick added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
ROYALS 6, YANKEES 5 Kansas City erased an eighth-inning deficit gainst Jonathan Loaisga (7-3) as Ryan O'Hearn, Jarrod Dyson, Hunter Dozier and Michael A. Taylor drove in runs to help the Royals beat New York.
ATHLETICS 13, RANGERS 6 Matt Chapman and Ramon Laureano hit two-run home runs in the first two innings and Cole Irvin earned his second consecutive victory as Oakland raced to an early nine-run lead on the way to a win over the Rangers.
RED SOX 9, RAYS 5 (11) Rafael Devers' RBI double, Hunter Renfroe's RBI single and an RBI sacrifice fly from Enrique Hernandez in the 11th inning gave Boston a victory over Tampa Bay to ruin the major-league debut of Wander Franco, who went 2 for 4 -- including his first major-league home run -- with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.
INTERLEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 2, MARLINS 1 Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled on consecutive pitches to break a ninth-inning tie, and Toronto beat Miami.
REDS 10, TWINS 7 Tyler Naquin went 4 for 4 with a three-run home run that broke a ninth-inning tie after the Cincinnati bullpen lost a five-run lead, and the Reds stopped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota.
PIRATES 6, WHITE SOX 3 Pinch-hitter Erik Gonzalez's two-run single highlighted a four-run rally in the seventh inning as Pittsburgh beat skidding Chicago.
TIGERS 8, CARDINALS 2 Jonathan Schoop and Jake Rogers each drove in three runs, leading Detroit over St. Louis.
CUBS 7, INDIANS 1 Kyle Hendricks dominated over six scoreless innings to win his eighth consecutive start, Kris Bryant homered and Chicago beat Cleveland to avoid a two-game sweep.
GIANTS 5, ANGELS 0 Anthony DeSclafani allowed three hits in seven innings, Wilmer Flores homered during a four-run first and San Francisco defeated the Los Angeles Angels.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 3, PHILLIES 2 Max Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings to lead Washington over Philadelphia.
BRAVES 3, METS 0 Charlie Morton struck out 11 in seven innings of one-hit ball for his 100th major-league win, and Atlanta beat banged-up New York.
