Astros sweep Dodgers behind big game from Jose Altuve

Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and the Houston Astros pulled away for a 5-1 win over the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon.
Christian Walker and Yainer Diaz each hit a solo home run for Houston, which completed a three-game sweep over the Dodgers and improved to 11-2 in its past 13 games. Zack Short went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Dalton Rushing finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead Los Angeles at the plate. The Dodgers were swept for the first time since May 16-18, when they dropped three in a row against the crosstown Los Angeles Angels.
Astros right-hander Ryan Gusto (6-3) allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Dodgers right-hander Will Klein (1-1) gave up one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. He walked one and struck out one.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. Rushing hit a two-out double to left to drive in Michael Conforto.
The Astros pulled even at 1-1 in the top of the third. Short hit a leadoff single, advanced to third on a double by Isaac Paredes and scored on a sacrifice fly by Altuve.
Houston loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. Short worked the count full before drawing a walk on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to bring home the go-ahead run.
Walker and Diaz hit back-to-back, solo home runs to increase the Astros’ lead to 4-1 in the eighth. The blasts marked the 12th home run of the season for each player.
Altuve added a solo shot in the ninth to give Houston a 5-1 advantage. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball for his 16th home run of the season.
The Astros’ bullpen combined for three scoreless innings to preserve the victory for Gusto. Left-hander Bennett Sousa handled the seventh, fellow left-hander Bryan King pitched the eighth and right-hander Bryan Abreu finished the game with three strikeouts in the ninth.