Justin Verlander struck out 12 over seven outstanding innings, Yordan Alvarez had a two-run homer and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Tuesday night.
There were no more problems between the two teams one night after a series of hit-and-runs led to a brawl that emptied the benches.
Joe Espada took the place of manager Dusty Baker, who served a one-game suspension after he and reliever Hector Neris were ejected from Monday’s game.
Baker was also fined an amount that was not specified.
Verlander (7-2) gave up one run on six hits, improving to 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in four starts against the Mariners this season.
The right-hander had 3,086 strikeouts, passing Max Scherzer (3,079) and John Smoltz (3,084), to move into 17th place on the all-time list.
Chris Flexen (2-7) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.
For the Mariners, the Dominican Julio Rodríguez 3-0. The Venezuelans Eugenio Suárez 3-1, Abraham Toro 4-0 with an RBI.
For the Astros, the Venezuelan José Altuve 4-1. The Cubans Álvarez 3-1 with two runs scored and two RBIs, Yuli Gurriel 3-0. The Dominicans Jeremy Peña 4-2 with an RBI, José Siri 3-0.
