Astros belt five homers in 18-1 demolition of Dodgers

Isaac Paredes hit a home run on the first pitch of the game, Jose Altuve went deep twice and the visiting Houston Astros hit five total homers in an 18-1 blowout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
The Astros took complete control with a 10-run sixth inning that included a grand slam by Victor Caratini and a three-run shot from Altuve, his second homer of the game.
Houston’s Christian Walker added a round-tripper, giving him a six-game homer streak at Dodger Stadium dating back to last season when he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Walker has eight home runs against the Dodgers in that stretch.
Houston finished the game with 11 extra-base hits en route to its ninth win in 11 games. Caratini had two doubles in addition to his slam, and Altuve and Jake Meyers added three hits apiece.
Will Smith hit a home run for the Dodgers, who lost for just the second time in 11 games. Los Angeles starter Ben Casparius (6-3) gave up six runs on nine hits and no walks in three innings. He struck out three. Reliever Noah Davis was rocked for 10 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Paredes gave a sign of what was to come when he opened the game by hitting a first-pitch fastball into the left-field seats. Altuve doubled later in the inning and scored on a Walker single.
Smith’s home run in the second inning got the Dodgers within 2-1 before the Astros scored four times in the third on a pair of two-run home runs from Altuve and Walker.
The offensive eruption in the sixth was the Astros’ first 10-run inning since June 2022 against the Chicago White Sox. It was the first time the Dodgers gave up double digits in an inning since the St. Louis Cardinals scored 11 in a 1999 game.
Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3) gave up one run on four hits over six innings and cruised despite allowing four walks. He fanned four. McCullers stayed in the game after taking a 96.1 mph line drive from Shohei Ohtani off his left heel in the third. It was his second start since returning from a right foot sprain.
Houston right-hander Jason Alexander pitched scoreless ball over the final three innings for the first save of his career, which spans 24 appearances.