Astros blow Blue Jays out of the sky

Carlos Correa homered twice and drove in a career-high five runs as the Houston Astros romped into the All-Star break, battering the Toronto Blue Jays 19-1 Sunday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the runaway leaders in the AL West became the fifth team in the last 40 years to reach 60 wins before the All-Star Game. They joined the 1998 Yankees, 2001 Mariners, 2003 Braves and this year's Los Angeles Dodgers, who got there Saturday.

At 60-29, Houston heads into the break with a whopping lead in a division where no one else is over .500.

A day after his career-high 15-game hitting streak ended, Correa had four hits. The All-Star shortstop hit the 20-home run mark with his second of the day for his fifth career multi-homer game and second this season.

Fellow All-Star Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel and Evan Gattis also homered for Houston. Altuve had three hits for the fifth consecutive game - he became the ninth major leaguer to do so in more than a century, and the first since George Brett's record-tying six-game streak for Kansas City in 1976.

Gattis drove in four runs with two hits in Houston's most-lopsided win of the season.

Brad Peacock (7-1) pitched six innings of shutout ball, holding the Blue Jays to five hits while walking five.

Ezequiel Carrera homered with two outs in the Toronto ninth. The drive denied Houston the chance to top the largest shutout win in team history, 15-0 at Montreal on April 26, 1998.

The Astros hit three home runs in the second against J.A. Happ (3-6), the third time this season they've had at least three in an inning.

Gurriel got the Astros rolling with his 11th, followed by back-to-back home runs from Altuve and Correa after third baseman Josh Donaldson's error extended the inning.

Happ lasted four innings, matching his shortest outing of the season and picking up his second loss against Houston in eight starts against his former team. The left-hander gave up seven hits and six runs.

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