Hunter Brown struck out a season-high 10 over 6 2/3 solid innings Friday night, as the visiting Houston Astros beat the New York Mets, 3-1, in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Daulton Varsho had the go-ahead two-run single in the sixth for the Astros, who entered Friday with a one-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Yainer Diaz added an RBI single two batters later as Houston improved to 3-1 since the exit of general manager Dana Brown.
Carson Benge laced an RBI double for the Mets, who have lost three straight — their longest losing streak since a three-game skid from July 31 through Aug. 2.
Brown (4-3) allowed one run on five hits and one walk while authoring the longest start by an Astros pitcher since Aug. 10, when Hayden Wesneski lasted seven innings against the San Francisco Giants.
The 10 strikeouts were the most for Brown since June 14, 2025, when he whiffed 12 batters against the Minnesota Twins.
Brown exited Friday after allowing a single to Marcus Semien, but Bryan Abreu struck out Brett Baty to escape the jam. Abreu threw a perfect eighth and Josh Hader notched his 20th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Jeremy Pena and Jose Altuve had the Astros’ other hits. Pena added a stolen base.
Christian Scott (4-4) took the loss after giving up the three runs on one hit and five walks while striking out two over 5 1/3 innings. The five walks tied a career-high for Scott, who also walked five in his season debut against the Twins on Apr. 23.
Scott opened the sixth by retiring Pena before he walked the bases loaded. Nate Lavender entered and surrendered the hits to Varsho and Diaz.
Semien had two hits and a walk in three plate appearances. Francisco Lindor and Luis Torrens had the Mets’ other hits. Lindor scored New York’s run on Benge’s fourth-inning double.
