Estrada hits 2-run homer, drives in 4 in Rockies' 7-6 victory over Astros

DENVER (AP) — Thairo Estrada hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in four runs to help the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros 7-6 on Thursday.

Colorado improved to 9-34 at home, still the worst home start in the modern era. The Rockies have lost all 14 series at Coors Field.

Juan Mejia (1-0) got the win in relief of Kyle Freeland, who threw six solid innings, and Seth Halvorsen picked up his seventh save. Halvorsen gave up a leadoff triple to Jake Meyers and a pair of two-out singles before getting Victor Caratini on a flyout to right to end it.

Houston tied it at 5 in seventh on Cam Smith's two-run triple, and Colorado got it right back in the bottom of inning. After Tyler Freeman was thrown out at home trying to score from first on Mickey Moniak’s double, Jordan Beck singled to make it 6-5, stole second and scored on Estrada’s two-out single off reliever Jordan Weems (0-1).

Houston scored twice in the first inning, and Estrada tied with his homer it in the bottom of the inning. Isaac Paredes had an RBI double for Houston in the second, and Estrada tied it in the third with an RBU groundout. Ryan Ritter’s two-run single in the fourth gave Colorado the lead.

Brandon Walter gave up five runs over five innings of work for Houston.

With two runners on and two outs in the eighth for the Astros, Halvorsen got Paredes to pop out to catcher Aaron Nola to preserve the two-run lead.

Freeman singled in the first to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. He also singled in the seventh.

Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (1-3, 6.61 ERA) will open a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. Colorado continues its homestand with RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-11, 6.69) on the mound against the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

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

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve checks that he just earned a walk from Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Houston Astros catcher Victor Caratini, right, tags out Colorado Rockies' Tyler Freeman as he tries to score on triple hit by pinch-hitter Miceky Moniak in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Thairo Estrada gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Brandon Walter in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Thairo Estrada follows the flight of his two-run home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Brandon Walter in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Thairo Estrada gestures as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run against Houston Astros starting pitcher Brandon Walter in the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)