HOUSTON -- Yordan Alvarez homered twice as the Houston Astros dispatched the New York Mets with ease in a 5-3 win to complete a two-game sweep Wednesday.
Next up, a trip to the Big Apple to face the MLB-leading New York Yankees and slugger Aaron Judge, the only player who's hit more home runs than Alvarez this season.
"Whenever a player goes to New York and plays there, it's just really exciting with the history of that team and the ballpark," Alvarez through a translator. "We know they're a really good team so we're just going to compete and try to win."
Alvarez hit two of the season-high three home runs allowed by Carrasco (8-3). The right-hander exited with lower back tightness in the third inning with the Astros up 5-1.
Alvarez, who also homered Tuesday night, now has 21 this season to move into a tie with Mike Trout for second-most in the majors -- Judge homered twice Wednesday night at Tampa Bay, giving him 27 for the season.
The home run barrage by Alvarez in this series comes after he missed Sunday's game with a minor hand injury.
The 24-year-old Alvarez leads all players with a 1.064 OPS and has hit nine home runs in his last 20 games.
ORIOLES 7, NATIONALS 0 Austin Hays became the sixth player in Orioles history to hit for the cycle, completing the feat in the midst of a steady shower and shortly before play was halted for good in Baltimore's rain-shortened victory over Washington.
RANGERS 4, PHILLIES 2 Brad Miller hit a two-run single against his former team and Texas beat Philadelphia for the ninth time in a row to hand Zack Wheeler (6-4) his first loss in two months. Kole Calhoun also drove in two runs for the Rangers, whose winning streak against the Phillies dates to the opening day of the 2014 season.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 9, WHITE SOX 5 Bo Bichette hit a grand slam and Alejandro Kirk homered for the second consecutive game, leading Ross Stripling (4-2) and Toronto over injury-riddled Chicago. Bichette's second career slam capped a five-run fourth inning as the Blue Jays avoided a three-game series sweep.
GUARDIANS 11, TWINS 10 Oscar Gonzalez tied the game with a two-run single and scored on Owen Miller's go-ahead sacrifice fly as Cleveland rallied for four runs in the ninth inning to beat Minnesota.
RED SOX 6, TIGERS 2 Rob Refsnyder hit a two-run home run in the third inning and Boston posted their its series sweep of the season, powering past Detroit.
YANKEES 5, RAYS 4 Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 26th and 27th home runs, Jose Trevino delivered a two-run shot that put New York ahead in the eighth inning and the Yankees beat Tampa Bay.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BRAVES 4, GIANTS 3 Adam Duvall's run-scoring single capped Atlanta's three-run rally in the ninth as the Braves beat San Francisco.
CARDINALS 5, BREWERS 4 Nolan Arenado belted a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give St. Louis the lead and the Cardinals held on for their second consecutive victory over Milwaukee.
CUBS 14, PIRATES 5 Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom hit two-run home runs early and Alfonso Rivas added a grand slam off a position player late as Chicago routed Pittsburgh.
DODGERS 8, REDS 4 Freddie Freeman homered and drove in two runs and Los Angeles extended its winning streak against Cincinnati this season to six games.
MARLINS 7, ROCKIES 4 Pablo Lopez allowed one unearned run in seven solid innings and Miami beat Colorado.
PADRES 10, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Jurickson Profar had four hits, drove in two runs and scored twice for San Diego, which jumped on Madison Bumgarner (3-8) early against Arizona for a three-game sweep.
Wednesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 10, Arizona 4
Miami 7, Colorado 4
LA Dodgers 8, Cincinnati 4
Chicago Cubs 14, Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 4, San Francisco 3
St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 9, Chicago White Sox 5
Boston 6, Detroit 2
NY Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 11, Minnesota 10
Seattle at Oakland, (n)
Kansas City at LA Angels, (n)
INTERLEAGUE
Houston 5, NY Mets 3
Texas 4, Philadelphia 2
Baltimore 7, Washington 0 (6)
Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates with Jose Altuve after hitting a home run against the New York Mets during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the New York Mets during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)