Alvarez and Caratini homer as Astros beat Rangers 10-5 for a series split after Valdez scratched

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Yordan Alvarez homered for the second game in a row, among his three hits as Houston rallied from an early deficit to beat the Texas Rangers 10-5 on Monday night after Astros scheduled starter Framber Valdez was scratched because of elbow soreness.

No. 9 batter Victor Caratini added a three-run homer as the Astros earned a split in the four-game series that was the first this season between the AL West rivals.

Seth Martinez (1-0) worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief as the first of four pitchers after Blair Henley retired only one of the nine batters he faced. Henley's major league debut starting in place of Valdez, who returned to Houston to be evaluated by team doctors.

“We just tried to attack the zone, attack the hitters as best as possible,” said Caratini, the catcher who navigated all of those pitchers. “Then after we tied and took the lead, our biggest goal was for all the pitchers that came in to throw the least amount of pitches as possible.”

Tayler Scott and Brandon Bielak each worked two scoreless innings before Bryan Abreu pitched the ninth.

“Phenomenal job. That was a team win,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We needed those guys to step up, and they did big time.”

The Astros led 2-0 before Henley threw his first pitch, but the 26-year-old from nearby Fort Worth allowed five runs before getting an out on his 34th pitch. His first seven pitches were balls before he allowed three consecutive singles, and then with the bases loaded walked a batter and hit another to force in two runs. Jared Walsh then blooped a two-run single to shallow left to give the World Series champions a 5-2 lead.

“Yeah, there were nerves ... tried to breathe as much as I could,” Henley said. “Just make adjustments is the main key. And when you don’t make adjustments, it ends up piling up on you.”

Alvarez got Houston within 5-4 with his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot that he pulled 431 feet deep into the seats in right field off Texas starter Andrew Heaney (0-2). Alvarez greeted reliever Brock Burke with an RBI double in the fourth that tied the game at 5-5, and Kyle Tucker immediately followed with a tiebreaking two-run single.

Heaney was charged with six runs over 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander allowed four hits while walking three and striking out two.

“I felt a little off again, but physically I feel fine,” Heaney said. “It’s just frustrating.”

SEE YOU AGAIN REAL SOON

The Rangers and Astros open a three-game series Friday night in Houston, so will play seven of their 13 games against each other in the first 2 1/2 weeks this season. Both teams finished 90-72 last year, but Houston won the AL West title with the head-to-head tiebreaker by going 9-4. The Rangers won the AL pennant after a seven-game American Championship Series against the Astros when the road team won every game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Manager Joe Espada said RHP Justin Verlander (right shoulder inflammation) “woke up feeling well” a day after throwing 65 pitches for Triple-A Sugar Land in his first rehab start. Verlander will throw on the side Wednesday and make another rehab start in the minors this weekend before rejoining the Astros.

Rangers: Rookie INF Justin Foscue (left oblique strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list, and INF Davis Wendzel had his contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock. 3B Josh Jung (right wrist fracture) was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

UP NEXT

Houston opens a three-game series at Kansas City with Cristian Javier (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound Tuesday night.

Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.38) makes his third start of the season for Texas in the series opener at home against Oakland.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy walks through the dugout after the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' Jeremy Peña (3) and teammate Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrate after Alvarez scored on an Alex Bregman single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' Mauricio Dubón, left, José Abreu, center, wait as Victor Caratini, right, crosses home plate after Caratini's three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' third base coach Gary Pettis (8) high-fives Victor Caratini (17) for hitting a three-run home run off of Texas Rangers pitcher Grant Anderson (65) during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' Mauricio Dubón (14) rounds third base to score on a three-run home run by Victor Caratini during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Texas Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros starting pitcher Blair Henley delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve (27) and Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrate after scoring on a two-run single from Kyle Tucker during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubón, left, deflects a ground ball hit by Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford (not shown) during the first inning of baseball game, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Houston Astros' Victor Caratini (17) and teammate Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrate after Alvarez hit a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said.

The drone raids marked Kyiv's attempt to strike back during Moscow's offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city’s power plant. He said it could take a day to fully restore energy supplies and warned residents that power would be cut to parts of the city.

“Communal services are doing their best to restore the power system as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

Razvozhayev also announced that schools in the city would be closed temporarily.

Earlier Ukrainian attacks damaged aircraft and a fuel storage facility at Belbek air base near Sevastopol, according to satellite images released by Maxar Technologies.

In the Krasnodar region, the authorities said a drone attack early Friday caused a fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse which was later contained. There were no casualties.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted refineries and other energy facilities deep inside Russia, causing significant damage.

Ukrainian drones also attacked Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port. The Krasnodar region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said fragments of downed drones caused several fires but there were no casualties.

Belgorov Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, killing a woman and her 4-year-old child. Another attack set a fuel tank ablaze at a gas station in the region, he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops were fighting to halt Russian advances in the northeastern Kharkiv region that began late last week.

The town of Vovchansk, located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Russian border, has been a hot spot in the fighting in recent days. Ukrainian authorities have evacuated some 8,000 civilians from the town. The Russian army’s usual tactic is to reduce towns and villages to ruins with aerial strikes before its units move in.

Russia has also been testing defenses at other points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line snaking from north to south through eastern Ukraine. That line has barely changed over the past 18 months in what became a war of attrition. Recent Russian attacks have come in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as the Chernihiv and Sumy regions in the north and in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. The apparent aim is to stretch depleted Ukrainian resources and exploit weaknesses.

Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of a destroyed MiG 31 fighter aircraft at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of destroyed MiG 31 fighter aircraft and fuel storage facility at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of a destroyed SU 27 fighter aircraft in revetment at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows a damaged plane, likely a MiG 31 fighter aircraft, at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)