Astros rookie Zach Cole powers 6-3 win over Rangers in place of injured Yordan Alvarez

HOUSTON (AP) — Zach Cole homered and drove in three runs after replacing injured slugger Yordan Alvarez in the lineup, and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Monday night in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.

Houston pulled within a half-game of the streaking Seattle Mariners atop the AL West and moved three games ahead of Cleveland and Texas for the final American League wild card.

Cole homered on the first pitch he saw in the majors Friday at Atlanta. This time, he entered after Alvarez sprained his left ankle in the first inning and launched a two-run shot off starter Jack Leiter that gave the Astros a 4-3 lead in the fifth.

Texas threatened in the seventh, but Astros left fielder Jesús Sánchez threw out Jonah Heim at the plate on Wyatt Langford's single to end the inning.

Houston increased its lead to 6-3 in the bottom half when Sánchez and Jeremy Peña hit consecutive doubles with two outs, followed by Cole's run-scoring single.

Texas took a 3-2 lead with a three-run fifth that included Josh Jung’s two-run homer and an RBI single by Josh Smith.

Houston starter Jason Alexander permitted three runs, one earned, over 4 2/3 innings. Steven Okert (3-2) got four outs and combined with Jayden Murray, Bryan King and Bryan Abreu to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Abreu worked the ninth for his sixth save.

Leiter (9-9) allowed six runs — three earned — and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Alvarez was injured while scoring from first base on Leiter’s throwing error in the first. Cole entered in right field in the second, and Sánchez shifted from right field to left, where Alvarez had been playing.

Cole is 6 for 13 with two homers and seven RBIs in his first four major league games.

Astros right-hander AJ Blubaugh (3-1, 2.45 ERA) makes his second career start Tuesday night against Rangers RHP Merrill Kelly (12-7, 3.21).

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Houston Astros right fielder Jesus Sanchez, left, right fielder Zachary Cole (16), and center fielder Jake Meyers, right, celebrate after their win over the Texas Rangers in a baseball game Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Astros' Zachary Cole celebrates at second base after his RBI single off Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jacob Webb during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Astros' Zachary Cole, right, celebrates with Jeremy Peña, left, after hitting two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Astros' Zachary Cole reacts after hitting a two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Astros' Zachary Cole (16) watches his two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jack Leiter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of people in Ireland are calling for justice for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards outside a Dublin department store.

Activists said disturbing video of Yves Sakila in distress as he was pinned to the sidewalk was reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis in 2020.

Sakila, 35, had been chased and detained May 15 by several security guards who suspected him of shoplifting at Arnotts, Ireland's oldest and largest department store, in the heart of Dublin. He was unresponsive when police arrived and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

“Yves Sakila was a man who did not deserve to die," Suzie Tansia, of the Congolese Community Ireland, said at a demonstration Thursday. "He was a human being, like you and I. He was somebody’s son, and that could have been any one of us.”

Here are some things to know about the incident.

Attorney John Gerard Cullen, who represents the man's family, said Sakila allegedly stole a bottle of perfume from the store.

Sakila was pursued by security officers as he fled, knocking over a man in his 80s who was hospitalized with injuries, police said.

Video of the incident, described by the Irish Network Against Racism as “very disturbing," shows a man said to be Sakila struggling and crying out in distress as he was held down by several men for nearly five minutes.

As he was subdued, another man, wearing a gray suit, appears to kneel on Sakila's neck, the group said. By the end of the video, he is motionless.

“We are very concerned that this case appears to have the hallmarks of a case of excessive use of force,” said Shane O’Curry, director of the network. "The death of a Black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying, and we urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate all of the circumstances leading to this man’s death, in order to ensure minority ethnic community confidence in the criminal justice system.”

The department store said it was “deeply saddened” by Sakila's death and was conducting a review of its privately contracted security services. It said it was cooperating with police.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin called for a thorough investigation.

“My deepest sympathies go out to his family, and to the wider Congolese community,” Martin said. “I don’t want to prejudice the outcome of that investigation but I think a lot of people are clearly very concerned about what has transpired here.”

Police are investigating the death but are also the subject of an internal probe by the ombudsman into their response.

News reports said the first officers on the scene handcuffed Sakila before realizing he was unresponsive and performing CPR.

An autopsy has been completed, but police have not released the cause of death, citing operational reasons.

Cullen said Sakila's family is frustrated at the little information they have been provided.

Police have asked for witnesses to come forward.

Sakila had moved from Congo to Galway as a teen and lived in Ireland more than 20 years. He had worked in the technology industry but was homeless in recent years. Cullen said Sakila struggled with drug abuse.

Walter Kabangu, the director of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce in Ireland who went to school with Sakila, described him as a “very down-to-earth young man."

A vigil was held Tuesday outside Arnotts and hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered Thursday outside Parliament.

They held signs that said “Black lives matter here too," and shouted, “Justice for Yves, dignity for all,” and “No justice, no peace.”

Before the protest, the Black Coalition Ireland held a news conference and announced five demands: a transparent investigation of the death; racial training for police; laws against excessive force in civilian detention; an end to “demonizing rhetoric” against ethnic communities; and equal treatment for all in practice — not just on paper.

“We are demanding this because our lives matter," said Yemi Adenuga, a Meath County councilor who is a spokeswoman for the coalition. "It would be sad to see this happen again on the streets of Dublin.”

Walter Kabangu, director of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, taking part in a protest outside Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, May 21, 2026, over the death of Congolese man Yves Sakila following an incident with security guards at a Dublin department store. (Cillian Sherlock/PA via AP)