Yordan Alvarez belts 2 home runs, drives in 3 to lift Astros to 5-4 win over Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez belted two home runs and drove in three runs, rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 13 over seven innings and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Saturday.

Zach Dezenzo hit his first major-league homer and Alex Bregman added a solo shot for the AL West-leading Astros, who won their second straight over Boston and fourth straight overall.

In recording his 19th career multi-homer game, Alvarez improved his lofty career numbers in Fenway Park, where he’s batting .463 with seven homers and 19 RBIs. He entered the day leading all AL hitters with a .354 average in road games.

“You can kind of tell just by the game, the results,” Alvarez said through a team translator, when asked if he enjoys hitting in Fenway.

Boston manager Alex Cora thinks the Astros’ slugger is right up there with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge as one of the game’s best hitters. He even compared him to former Red Sox slugger and Hall of Famer David Ortiz.

“For me, he’s up there with Judge, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “It seems like he likes hitting here. That (Green Monster) keeps him closed, he can shoot it the other way. ... Closest thing to David, probably, in the game. Very, very, very similar to David Ortiz."

Danny Jansen and Masataka Yoshida each had a solo homer for the Red Sox, who lost a series for the first time in their last four.

Alvarez's second shot came off a slider from Brad Keller (0-3) and traveled an estimated 422 feet into the right-field seats.

Arrighetti (5-10) gave up just two hits — the solo homers — and walked one in his 92-pitch outing.

“Yeah, I think I was really locked in,” he said. “Honestly, I got really angry in the first inning, second inning, a little bit. That sometimes helps me. ... I don't think I necessarily had my best stuff, but I think that I was really dialed in using what I had today.”

Josh Hader got the final three outs for his 25th save despite giving up Rafael Devers’ leadoff double. It was his 25th straight successful save opportunity, a Houston club record.

Alvarez had given Houston a 1-0 lead when he sent Josh Winckowski’s changeup over Boston’s bullpen in the first.

Bregman’s seventh-inning drive sailed deep in the batters’ eye in center off Keller. Dezenzo’s went over Green Monster seats in left.

Wilyer Abreu’s two-run single sliced Boston’s deficit to 5-4 in the eighth.

Called up from Triple-A Sugar Land in April to fill an opening in Houston’s injury-depleted rotation, the 24-year-old Arrighetti kept Boston’s hitters off balance by mixing his mid-90 mph fastball with a changeup, sweeper and curveball until Jansen hit a first-pitch fastball completely out of Fenway over the Monster to open the fifth.

Arrighetti, the club’s top pitching prospect entering the season, was coming off his best start in his last outing, when he struck out 12 over six innings, holding Tampa Bay to one run in a tough-luck loss.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHP Kendall Graveman (right shoulder surgery) threw off the Fenway Park mound before the game. Manager Joe Espada said it was around 10 pitches and they’ll wait to see how he feels before the next step. … RHP Justin Verlander (neck discomfort) was still expected to make a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night.

Red Sox: RHP Liam Hendriks threw his second live BP, this time off the Fenway mound as he continues his return from ulnar collateral ligament surgery last August. He’s expected to throw another on Tuesday or Wednesday and could go on a rehab assignment after that. “Today was better than the other day,” he said. “The other day we noticed a couple of things. We, I mean, the coaching staff and my wife. She pulled up (clips) of how I used to pitch.” … 1B Triston Casas (strained rib since mid-April) continues his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester. Cora said he won’t be back this weekend or the upcoming three games against Texas.

UP NEXT

RHP Hunter Brown (9-7, 3.98 ERA) is set to go for the Astros in Sunday’s series finale against LHP James Paxton (9-3, 4.42), who is making his third start with Boston since he was acquired in a trade from the Dodgers.

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

Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Danny Jansen celebrates after his home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela scores in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida, right, celebrates his home run with teammate Rafael Devers, left, in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez celebrates after his home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates after his home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Houston Astros hitter Alex Bregman, left, celebrates after his home run with teammate Yordan Alvarez, right, in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians began voting in the first round of local elections on Sunday for mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in the country’s 5,569 municipalities.

In Sao Paulo, three mayoral candidates are running neck-and-neck, including incumbent Ricardo Nunes, left-wing lawmaker Guilherme Boulos and self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal. A runoff is scheduled for Oct. 27.

Much of the attention leading up to Sunday’s vote has been on Brazil ’s biggest city, where the race has been marred by episodes of violence involving Marçal.

Last month, José Luiz Datena, a former TV presenter turned candidate, slammed Marçal with a metal chair during a televised debate following references to allegations of sexual misconduct. In a later debate, an aide to Marçal thumped an adversary’s counterpart, resulting in a bloody face.

Marçal sparked more controversy on Friday, when he published on social media a falsified medical report indicating cocaine use by Boulos. The document was widely debunked by local media that pointed to inconsistencies including the fact that it was signed by a doctor who had passed away.

Boulos, a longtime campaigner for housing rights who is backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, vehemently denied the veracity of the document. On Saturday, a judge sitting on Sao Paulo’s electoral court ordered the suspension of Marçal’s Instagram account for 48 hours and deemed that there are “indications of various offenses under the Electoral Code.”

Some of former President Jair Bolsonaro ’s political base has been drawn to Marçal, enthralled by his fiery rhetoric, although the far-right leader is supporting Nunes.

In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Eduardo Paes is hoping to avoid a second-round runoff. Polls indicated until recently that was possible. But his principal challenger Alexandre Ramagem has steadily climbed in the polls in recent weeks, rendering the outcome of Sunday’s vote uncertain.

Ramagem, the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, is being investigated as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents. He has denied the accusations.

Bolsonaro is backing Ramagem, and his ascent in the polls is widely attributed to the former president's campaigning on his behalf.

More than 155 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Forty-three percent of the electorate is in the southeastern region, where Rio and Sao Paulo are located. Women make up around 52% of voters.

Nearly 1,000 transgender politicians are running Sunday in every one of Brazil’s 26 states, according to the nation’s electoral court, which is tracking them for the first time. The number of candidacies has tripled since the last local elections four years ago, when trans rights group Antra mapped them.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasilia time and close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).

A second round will be held in municipalities with more than 200,000 registered voters, if none of the candidates for mayor obtain an absolute majority.

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, gestures to supporters as he campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, right, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)