sport news MLB roundup: Mets fail to win against Rockies despite Pete Alonso's 20th home ... trends now

First baseman Pete Alonso scored off a solo home run to become the first MLB player to reach 20 home runs this season despite the New York Mets losing to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.  

The Mets lost a three-game series to the Chicago Cubs before beating the Rockies in a best-of-three matchup on Friday (5-2). 

On Saturday, however, ace Justin Verlander couldn't catch a break against Colorado. A night after Max Scherzer gave a seven inning performance, Verlander gave up five runs in the second inning alone.

The Mets came back from a 6-0 deficit by the end of the sixth. Verlander, who stayed in the game despite a torrid time on the mound, was rewarded for his perseverance when Francisco Alvarez hit a blast to tie the game. 

New York then took the lead in seventh before the Rockies clawed back to leapfrog the Mets by the end of the inning. 

The Mets eventually lost 10-7 in the second game of a three-game series and will now face the Rockies for a third and final time on Sunday at Coors Field. 

Yankees 3-2 Padres

Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a game-ending single with one out in the 10th inning as the New York Yankees beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Saturday.

After Anthony Volpe and Aaron Judge hit into double plays in the eighth and ninth, the Yankees got their fifth walk-off win when Kiner-Falefa sent Nick Martinez's 2-0 pitch down the line just past the glove of third baseman Rougned Odor to score Greg Allen.

'I was just trying to see if he was gonna come after me,' Kiner-Falefa said. 'He threw two balls out of the zone and I was just looking for something. I thought he was going to throw something elevated and I was going to be able hit a pop fly to left field right there, but I was a little bit out front and I was able to hook it in the line.'

It was Kiner-Falefa's third career walk-off hit and first since joining the Yankees to play shortstop last season. This time, he got the hit while continuing to play as an outfielder for the first time in his career.

'Whatever role it's been in, he's worked his tail off to acclimate himself to it and be ready for it,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'And now he's gotten some more starts lately. You get him in matchups where you feel like he can be really successful and he's done a really nice job here for us.'

Astros 6-3 Athletics

Astros' shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat since getting a planned day off, backing another solid outing from Framber Valdez as Houston sent the Oakland Athletics to their 10th consecutive loss with a 6-3 win Saturday.

Alex Bregman had three hits and three RBI for Houston, which has won 13 of 16. The Astros (30-21) are a season-high nine games over .500 after opening the season 3-6.

'We've known we had a great team from the jump,' Peña said. 'It's just the flows of the season. We know that. Now it's just a matter of showing up and doing that every day.'

The victory was the 2,123rd of Astros manager Dusty Bake's career, two shy of Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy for eighth on the all-time list. 

Valdez, who six days earlier pitched his second career shutout against the A's, was almost as dominant this time, too, despite three walks.

Twins 9-7 Blue Jays 

Willi Castro had his first career multi-homer game, Matt Wallner homered amongst his career-high four hits, and the Minnesota Twins held off the Toronto Blue Jays 9-7 on Saturday.

Edouard Julien also homered as part of a three-hit day, and Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Farmer each had two of Minnesota's 14 hits.

All but Castro have spent time in Triple-A St. Paul this season, although Farmer's was only a four-game rehab assignment.

'When you call guys up, you're looking for them to help you win a game and then they just take over the game and it's a bonus,' said manager Rocco Baldelli. 'We knew we're gonna rely on them at some point in the year and that time's now.'

Bo Bichette had three hits, including a home run for the second straight game, but the Blue Jays lost for the 10th time in 13 games. Daulton Varsho also went deep.

Phillies 2-1 Braves

Zack Wheeler struck out 12 in eight shutout innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Charlie Morton and the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Saturday.

Wheeler (4-4) allowed three hits, walked one and hit a batter in his first win since April 29. The right-hander went 0-3 with a 4.44 ERA in four previous May starts.

Wheeler said manager Rob Thomson asked him how he was feeling after the seventh.

'(Thomson) told me if I got the first two guys in the eighth, I would get a chance to get through it,' said Wheeler, who then struck out the first two batters before retiring Matt Olson on a bouncer to first. 'I worked really hard this past bullpen working up and hitting my spots.'

Wheeler felt it was his best outing of the season. 

'That was a very well-pitched game against us,' Braves manager Brian Snitker said. 'I felt like he probably could've thrown out there all day long.'

Mariners 5-0 Pirates

Luis Castillo struck out 10 in six crisp innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 on Saturday.

Castillo allowed one hit - Tucupita Marcano's double on the game's first pitch - and walked two. The right-hander earned his second straight win since dropping consecutive starts.

Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, Trevor Gott and Justin Topa then combined for three innings of one-hit ball for Seattle. It was a sharp contrast from Friday night, when Pittsburgh slugged seven homers in a series-opening win.

'I saw they came out aggressive,' Castillo said. 'So in my mind, I said, ''OK, I just gotta throw a variety of different pitches.'' And that's what I did.'

Castillo's 10 strikeouts matched his most since he was acquired in a trade with Cincinnati in July.

Reds 8-5 Cubs

Jonathan India homered twice and drove in five runs, helping the Cincinnati Reds beat the struggling Chicago Cubs 8-5 on Saturday night.

TJ Friedl and rookie Matt McLain each had two hits and scored two runs as Cincinnati won for the fourth time in six games. Tyler Stephenson also had two hits.

Buck Farmer (1-3) got five outs for the win, and Alexis Díaz worked a shaky ninth for his 11th save. Farmer, Ian Gibaut, Alex Young and Díaz combined for 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in relief of Brandon Williamson.