Houston Astros 7 — New York Yankees 4
Losing the strike zone proves costly for the Yankees closer tonight.
Through the first four innings, birthday boy Chris Capuano was in complete control. He allowed three hits but struck out six and allowed no runs. The Houston Astros sent Brett Oberholtzer to the mound, like Capuano, relying on control and location. With two outs in the fourth inning, Oberholtzer would give up what looked like a harmless single to Martin Prado. The next batter, Brian McCann, would make it far from harmless as he hit his 14th home run of the season, a two-run home run that gave the Yankees a two-run lead.
Like the Yankees, the Astros would find some two-out magic in the fifth inning.
After getting the first two in the bottom third of the order, Capuano would give up a double to number nine hitter Gregorio Petit. Robbie Grossman would follow with a double of his own and the Astros cut the Yankees two-run lead in half. Jose Altuve would walk but Capuano would finish the inning with his eighth strikeout of the night.
The sixth inning would be the end for Capuano’s night and at the time, he would be in line for a loss on his birthday. That’s rough.
Dexter Fowler would start the sixth inning with a triple and scored on a ground out to tie the game. A pair of singles would end the night on the mound for Chris Capuano. Adam Warren, struggling of late, would come in and got the first out but a two-run single to right field would put the Astros ahead before Warren could finish the inning.
In 5.1 innings, Chris Capuano allowed four runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out eight. He threw a season-high 103 pitches tonight. The Yankees offense would get Capuano off the hook. Jacoby Ellsbury would hit a single to start the inning. He would advance on a balk and Carlos Beltran would walk with one out. Martin Prado would come through with a two-run double into the left field corner that tied the game. The double would end the night for Oberholtzer but the Yankees could not get the lead.
Shawn Kelley and Dellin Betances would pitch a scoreless inning. The Yankees would have one last good opportunity to score fall by the way side.
In the eighth inning, Jacoby Ellsbury would get things started with his third hit of the night, a single. He would steal second and the throw from catcher Jason Castro would hit Ellsbury and ricochet into center field, letting him advance to third. With one out and the infield in, Carlos Beltran would hit a ground ball to the shortstop. He would throw home to get Ellsbury out on a contact play, essentially, ending their prime scoring opportunity. Ironically, after the out at home, Martin Prado would get his third hit of the night, a single that would easily score Ellsbury had he stayed at third.
With the game tied in the ninth inning and the possibility of a save gone, David Robertson would come in.
After getting the first out of the inning, Robertson would lose the strike zone, walking the next two batters. He would fall behind Chris Carter, a batter commonly known for his all-or-nothing style of offense. Prior to this at-bat, Carter struck out three times. On a 3-0 pitch, Carter got the green light and he would get all of the pitch down the middle. He hit it to deep left field beyond the location of Derek Jeter‘s 3,000th hit and it put the Astros ahead by three.
The deflating top of the ninth would follow with a scoreless bottom of the inning as the Yankees fall to the Astros.
Win – Josh Fields (3-6)
Loss – David Robertson (1-4)
Save – Chad Qualls (14)
Notables
Astros
*Chris Carter – 1 for 5, R, 3-Run Home Run (30) in the 9th, 3 RBI (72)
*Marwin Gonzalez – 1 for 2, 2 RBI (19)
Yankees
*Martin Prado – 3 for 4, R, 2B, 2 RBI (48)
*Brian McCann – 1 for 4, R, 2-Run Home Run (14) in the 4th, 2 RBI (51)
Current Yankees Record: 63-60
