Dozier homered in loss
Jason Castro homered and drove in four runs, and Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa both homered and knocked in three as the Houston Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season with a 16-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
The Astros built a 6-0 lead after two innings and didn’t let up in setting a season high for runs. Altuve hit his fifth leadoff homer this year, Castro connected for the second straight game with his two-run shot in the third, and Correa’s first home run since April 6 came in the fourth.
Minnesota right-hander Phil Hughes (1-5) allowed six hits and a season-high six runs in two innings, his shortest start since also lasting two innings on Sept. 25, 2013. It was the third straight loss for Hughes and the second consecutive game in which he’s given up three runs in the first inning.
Houston starter Mike Fiers yielded nine hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Scott Feldman (1-2) got the win after throwing two perfect innings.
Altuve and Carlos Gomez each hit a two-run double in a five-run fifth inning that made it 14-4. Castro drove in two more with a double in the eighth to tie a career high for RBIs.
Minnesota manager Paul Molitor and reliever Ryan Pressly were ejected in the eighth inning after the double by Castro.
Altuve’s leadoff homer gave Houston a 1-0 lead. Correa, who finished with three hits, added an RBI double and reached third on the throw before scoring on a groundout by Colby Rasmus that made it 3-0.
George Springer hit a two-run double with one out in the second and Rasmus snapped an 0-for-13 skid with his run-scoring single with two outs to push the lead to 6-0.
The Twins made up half the deficit on one swing when Brian Dozier hit a three-run homer into the seats in left field with no outs in the third.
Joe Mauer singled for Minnesota’s fourth straight hit, but Fiers settled down after that to retire the next three and limit the damage. Mauer has reached safely in each of his 28 games, the second-longest streak to start a season in Twins history and the longest in the majors this year.
Eduardo Nunez doubled in the fourth and scored on a groundout by Danny Santana to make it 8-4.
Luis Valbuena singled in the third to snap an 0-for-18 slide on a night when all but one player in Houston’s starting lineup got a hit.