WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Christian Walker homered and drove in three runs to back a strong start from Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros beat the Athletics 11-5 on Thursday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Houston avoided a sweep and ended a seven-game losing streak to the Athletics after beginning the day a game behind Detroit for the final AL wild card with the Tigers owning the tiebreaker. Detroit was set to play the Cleveland Guardians later Thursday.

Nick Kurtz homered twice and drove in the three runs for the Athletics. He hit a shot off Valdez in the sixth and a two-run shot against Enyel De Los Santos in the eighth. Kurtz’s 35 home runs are the second-most by an A’s rookie — trailing only Mark McGwire’s 49 in 1987. He hit nine homers in 11 games against Houston, tied f

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