Martín Maldonado emptied the bases with a kilometric hit

Houston. Justin Verlander struck out 10 over six innings for his 12th win, the most in Major League Baseball (MLB), as the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0 on Saturday.

Martin Maldonado hit a grand slam in the second inning when the AL West-leading Astros bounced back after a 5-1 loss in the series opener on Friday night. The A’s did, in fact, outhit Houston 7-6, but they had little to show for it.

Verlander (12-3) gave up six hits without walking and dropped his ERA to 1.89, ranking third in MLB.. Phil Maton, Hector Neris and Bryan Abreu each pitched a shutout inning to complete the shutout against the team with the worst record in the American League.