Yordan Álvarez hit a pair of homers off Carlos Carrasco, who was attacked early by the Houston Astros, who beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Wednesday.
Cuban Álvarez hit two of the three home runs allowed by Carrasco (8-3). The Venezuelan had not admitted that amount in the season.
Carrasco ended up leaving with lower back stiffness in the third inning, with Houston leading 5-1.
Álvarez, who also homered Tuesday night, has 21 this season, catching up with Mike Trout for second in the major leagues.
His barrage of homers in this series came after Alvarez missed Sunday’s game with a minor hand injury.
At 24 years old, Álvarez is the leader in OPS with 1,064 and has hit nine home runs in his last 20 games.
The Mets, leaders of the National League, began this series after winning four of five duels. However, they continued to struggle in Houston, where they have lost eight straight.
Venezuelan starter Luis Garcia (5-5) gave up six hits and three runs over just over five innings, in which he struck out five, to take the victory. Ryan Pressly resolved the ninth inning scoreless to reach 14 saves.
For the Mets, Dominican Starling Marte 3-1 with a run scored. Puerto Ricans Francisco Lindor 4-2, Tomás Nido 3-0. Venezuelans Luis Guillorme 4-2, Eduardo Escobar 4-1.
For the Astros, Venezuelan José Altuve 3-0 with a run scored. The Cubans Álvarez 4-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs, Yuli Gurriel 4-0. Honduran Mauricio Dubón 3-1.
