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Series Recap
·7 min read

Series Recap: Yankees create problems for Houston

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The New York Yankees served up some payback to the Houston Astros. Extending their winning streak to eight, before dropping the series finale, the Yankees impressively took three-of-four in their series against the Astros. The Bronx Bombers continued to power the ball and climbed closer to the AL’s best record. Making it even sweeter was a BP Crew victory Saturday night!

GAME 1

The Bronx Bombers put the Astros on notice. This wasn’t the same squad that was swept in H-Town in April. The pinstripes batted around for the second time in as many games. A 10-6 victory wasn’t as close as it looked with the only sticking point being Aroldis Chapman had to enter a game where the Yankees lead 10-3 at one point.

THREE BOMBS AND A TOUCHDOWN

The Bronx Bombers finally got to Framber Valdez in the fourth and the baseballs needed plane tickets.

Gary Sanchez smoked a solo shot to left to give the Yankees a 1-0 edge.

Giancarlo Stanton followed with a double to left, his first of three hits on the evening. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a walk.

Gleyber Torres decided it was t-shirt time with a three-run smash to left-center.

After Cameron Maybin coaxed a one-out walk, Valdez’s night was done.

With Chris Devenski on, Maybin stole second and with two outs DJ LeMahieu did what he does with RISP and crushed a two-run tater into Monument Park. The home run posted New York to a 6-0 advantage.

CHAD CORTES JR.

New York moved to 6-0 with Chad Green as an opener. The combo of Green and Nestor Cortes Jr. was up to the task against the Astros lineup. Green whiffed three in two scoreless innings. Cortes Jr. navigated through three mostly smooth innings, aside from being porched on each side by consecutive solo shots from Jake Marisnick and Alex Bregman in the fifth.

Houston would launch four bombs against the Yankee bullpen but fortunately, all were solo shots. Yodan Alvarez lined a bullet homer to right off Tommy Kahnle in the sixth and Marisnick took David Hale deep to left-center in the ninth.

MAY CAN STAY

With Aaron Judge looming in the Bronx, Maybin made his case to remain in the fold. After Encarnacion and Torres reached on a one-out walk and single respectively, Maybin ripped a two-run double to right off Josh James in the fifth.

WALK THE PARROT

Facing Rogelio Armenteros in the seventh, Stanton reached on a single to center. The ensuing batter Encarnacion drilled a two-run tater to left that got out in a hurry, capping off the New York scoring.

GAME 2

There was a lot of whiffs on both sides but the Bronx Bombers had enough defense and power to pull out a 4-1 victory. Aaron Judge made his return in the leadoff spot but didn’t play much of a factor in his first game returning from injury.

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RUFFLING FEATHERS

Brad Peacock flummoxed Yankee hitters much of the evening with 11 K’s in six innings but he couldn’t contain Sanchez in the third.

Maybin set the pinstripes in motion with a single to center. With two down, for the third consecutive contest, Sanchez clocked a home run. The Yankee backstop clubbed a two-run tater to left, a 481-foot bomb off an 82 mph changeup no less.

PAX MAN FEVER

James Paxton toiled for five-plus frames but his fastball appeared to feature more giddyup. Paxton had his four-seam fastball and cutter working to fan seven Houston hitters. The lone blemish came in the fourth when Tyler White and Marisnick traded places on consecutive doubles.

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TORRES TATER

New York hitters were relieved to see Peacock out of the game and Hector Rondon on the bump in the seventh. Brett Gardner reached on a one-out double to right.

The ensuing batter Torres drove a two-run tater to right, doubling the Bronx Bombers advantage to 4-1. For Torres, it marked his third home run in as many games.

Torres and Sanchez became the first pair of Yankee teammates to homer in three consecutive contests.

BULLISH

Adam Ottavino played fireman in the sixth and Tommy Kahnle picked him up with two outs in the seventh. Zack Britton worked his sinker in the eighth, recording a sweet double-play started by a Gleyber glove flip. Aroldis Chapman came on and finished off the ninth with a 101 mph fastball.

GAME 3

On the cusp of tying a franchise record for most consecutive home runs at 25, Aaron Boone pushed the correct buttons, as Gio Urshela and Austin Romine, basically playing in place of Torres and Sanchez, both went deep. Stanton had himself a night, ripping the ball. The Yankees won a wild affair 7-5. It was another fun BP Crew event, my voice and hearing are shot after that game but it’s all good.

GIO OPPO TACO

It looked like the Yankees were going to wear down Wade Miley early but it wasn’t until the fifth when they broke through. Hicks reached on a one-out walk. With two down, Urshela drove a 1-0 fastball into the right-field seats for a two-run tater, tying a franchise record set by the 1941 Bronx Bombers.

It’s interested they accomplished the feat to the day when that Yankee squad set the then-record of 18-straight on a Joe DiMaggio home run, which extended his hitting streak to 35-straight.

TIDY TANAKA

Masahiro Tanaka wasn’t as dominant coming off a shutout of the Tampa Bay Rays but he didn’t need to be. Tanaka more or less matched Miley, scattering eight hits through six innings. Yet in the sixth, the requisite two-run homer to right by Josh Reddick tied the game and kicked off the seesaw affair.

STANTON SCORCHES

After a three-hit performance Thursday, Stanton continued to torture the Astros. The pinstripes packed the bases on consecutive free passes to LeMahieu and Judge and Voit singled to left. With Will Harris on in relief, Stanton scorched a two-run single to left, providing the pinstripes with a 4-2 lead.

TEXAS FOLD ‘EM

This is how stupid the “win” stat is. Jonathan Holder held nothing, pitched miserably and was summarily booed off the mound after yielding a three-run homer to right by Alvarez in the seventh. Holder was credited with a blown save and a win but that’s baseball Suzyn.

RO BACK AND STANT AND DELIVER

Facing the once previously untouchable Ryan Pressly in the seventh, the pinstripes powered right back. With one-out, Romine sliced a solo shot to the porch in right, for the 5-5 equalizer.

LeMahieu followed with a single to short. After a wild pitch Judge reached on catcher interference. Voit grounded out to first and both runners moved up. Stanton was the man again with a sharp two-run single to left, placing the pinstripes back on top at 7-5.

TOIL TO VICTORY

Ottavino and Britton labored to the end, nearly tossing 30 pitches apiece but managed to stave off the Astros to close it out.

GAME 4

After Mariano Rivera stole the show in the Old Timers’ Day game, the pitching matchup between Justin Verlander and J.A. Happ was apt for the afternoon. With the 9-4 defeat, the Yankees winning streak was snapped at eight but their home run streak continued to 26 straight and the Astros losing streak concluded at seven.

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FINISHED BEFORE IT STARTED

Happ pitched like an old-timer trying to groove it to the opposition. Altuve set the tone with a solo smash in the first. An RBI-single by Brantley made it 2-0 in the third. In the fourth, White went oppo taco for his first-career grand slam. Since his debut in 2007, no pitcher has given up more grand slams than Happ’s eight. A two-run tater to right by Alvarez put Happ to bed in the fifth. Six of Happ’s starts have resulted in multi-homer games.

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Luis Cessa would come on and surrender a solo bomb to left by Yuli Gurriel, making it 9-0.

Even with Verlander on the mound, it was odd seeing a punt game with this Yankee lineup.

26 FOR 26

In the home fifth the Yankees showed some life. After consecutive two-out hits by Hicks and Gardner, LeMahieu made history. Reaching double-digits with his tenth home run, LeMahieu’s three-run jolt to right-center helped the Bronx Bombers break the franchise mark of the ’41 squad with homers in 26 consecutive contests.

LeMahieu would also triple and score on a Judge ground out in the eighth.

ON DECK

At 49-28, the Yankees will host the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game series starting Monday evening.

Pitching probables, Aaron Sanchez vs. CC Sabathia, Clayton Richard vs. TBA, Trent Thornton vs. James Paxton.