BALTIMORE -- Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-4 with his 12th homer and scored three runs as the Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-5 to split a doubleheader Thursday.
Lance McCullers Jr. (2-2) pitched six innings, allowing three runs and two hits. He struck out nine and walked four.
Cam Smith launched an early three-run homer and Yainer Diaz got three hits for the Astros, who finished with 15 to salvage the finale of the three-game series. Leody Taveras had a two-run double, and Isaac Paredes went 5-for-10 in the doubleheader.
Adley Rutschman and Jeremiah Jackson each hit a grand slam in the opener to help the Orioles cruise to a 10-3 win. Chris Bassitt (2-2) tossed 6⅔ innings for his longest outing this season and allowed one run on seven hits.
Houston outhit Baltimore 27-12 in the twin bill.
In the second game, the Astros sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and jumped on Baltimore starter Brandon Young for five runs, two on a single by Dustin Harris and three on Smith's homer.
Alvarez, whose 13-game hitting streak ended in the opener, made it 6-0 with a solo homer in the second. He became the third player in the majors to reach 12 homers this season, joining the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Chicago White Sox's Munetaka Murakami, the most players to reach that mark before May in a season, according to ESPN Research.
Alvarez's 12 homers are also an Astros record for most long balls in a season before May.
Houston batted around again in the fourth, adding four runs with the aid of three hits, two walks, a sacrifice fly and an Orioles error.
Young (2-1) allowed 10 runs -- seven earned -- and 10 hits over four innings.
Peter Lambert (1-2) took the loss in the first game after giving up two runs and two hits in 4⅓ innings.
Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said before the opener that left-hander Trevor Rogers, placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday, has flu.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
