Astros 11, Orioles 0
Jason Castro belted his first career grand slam and Brett Oberholtzer scattered three hits over seven innings in his first major-league start as visiting Houston battered Baltimore.
Matt Dominguez homered among his four hits and scored three times while Robbie Grossman went deep for the first time in his career with a two-run homer in the second inning. Brandon Barnes and Brett Wallace added RBI hits for the Astros, who handed the Orioles their sixth loss in eight games.
With Houston enjoying a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, Castro emptied the bases by depositing a 3-1 fastball from Miguel Gonzalez (8-5) over the wall in center field for his 13th homer. The two-out blast ended the evening for Gonzalez, who fell to 5-1 at home after yielding a career-high nine runs (four earned) on as many hits.
Oberholtzer (1-0) made the most of his spot start as scheduled starter Bud Norris was traded to Baltimore hours before the game and replacement Erik Bedard was scratched with shoulder soreness. The 24-year-old left-hander struck out six without walking a batter before giving way to Chia-Jen Lo, who made his major-league debut in the eighth inning.
The Astros jumped on Gonzalez early as Grossman continued his stellar series by launching a first-pitch fastball onto Eutaw Street. Grossman, who finished 2-for-4, went 3-for-3 with a run scored in the series opener.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Norris (6-9, 3.93 ERA), who was also scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start, was traded to the Orioles for OF L.J. Hoes, LHP Josh Hader and a 2014 draft pick. Norris will get the start against his former team on Thursday, while Hoes went 0-for-5 at the plate. ... Castro's grand slam was the second by a Houston player this season. Dominguez belted his first career slam on June 18 against Milwaukee. ... Baltimore placed RHP Jason Hammel on the 15-day disabled list with right flexor mass tightness. The 30-year-old Hammel, who was the team's Opening Day starter, hasn't won a game since May 27.