Rookie Brice Matthews hit his first two homers and drove in his first five runs as the Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 in Phoenix on Monday.
Matthews hit a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run shot in the seventh, both off Zac Gallen (7-11). The 23-year-old second baseman was in his fifth league major game since being promoted from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Eugenio Suarez homered for the fifth time in the past three games, but the D-backs’ four-game winning streak ended. Suarez leads the National League with 36 homers and tops the majors with 86 RBIs.
Astros first baseman Christian Walker had two hits and an RBI double in his first game against the D-backs after signing a three-year, $60 million free agent deal last winter. He hit 146 homers and was a three-time Gold Glove winner in eight seasons with Arizona.
Houston’s Chas McCormick finished 2-for-4.
Corbin Carroll had an RBI single, stole a base and scored a run while James McCann and Josh Naylor had two hits apiece for the Diamondbacks.
Houston rookie Colton Gordon (4-2) gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings as the Astros won their second straight after losing seven of eight. Gordon struck out four and walked two.
Bennett Sousa replaced Gordon with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth, then walked Geraldo Perdomo before getting Ketel Marte to pop out to preserve a 4-3 lead.
Josh Hader walked two with two outs in the ninth but got Naylor to fly out for his 26th save in 27 chances.
Gallen allowed six runs and seven hits while striking out six and walking one in six-plus innings. He has given up an NL-high 23 homers, also a career high.
The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 in the first when Marte doubled and Carroll hit an RBI single.
Matthews’ two-out, 397-foot homer in the bottom of the first put the Astros ahead 3-1.
Walker doubled in a run in the third before the D-backs chipped away. Suarez homered in the third and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a sacrifice fly in the fifth, slicing the deficit to 4-3.
Matthews’ second homer went projected at 423 feet and ended Gallen’s outing in the seventh.
