Sanchez's homer wins it for New York
HOUSTON -- While the Astros were able to get a stellar performance from ace Justin Verlander, the Yankees were able to steal a win versus the defending champions, 4-0, at Minute Maid Park.
A clutch ninth-inning blast by Gary Sanchez proved to be the difference as the Yankees won their 19th game of the year.
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Following the loss of starter Jordan Montgomery after just an inning of work, due to elbow soreness, the Yankee bullpen did its job and was excellent in tonight's win.
Domingo German came in and pitched four innings of shutout baseball, giving up just four hits against a very potent Houston lineup. If Montgomery has to miss a start, German could very well be the one to take his spot in the Yankee rotation.
Chad Green, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, and Aroldis Chapman each then pitched a shutout inning of their own to help give New York its first win of this series.
Tonight, the bullpen needed to be spotless as Verlander was essentially unhittable all night. He struck out a career-high 14 Yankees in eight dominant innings of work.
With each team's pitchers performing well, both offenses were unable to muster up much offense throughout the night.
The Yankees, however, finally broke through in the ninth.
Houston reliever Ken Giles, who was excellent in last night's game, just did not have his stuff tonight.
Aaron Judge started the inning with a single to right field to get the rally started. Didi Gregorius then singled to put the winning run in scoring position.
Though Giancarlo Stanton would strikeout, Sanchez would pick up his teammate. With a base open, the Yankee catcher blasted a Giles pitch to straight-away center field to give the Bombers a 3-0 lead.
Aaron Hicks would score on a wild pitch later in the inning to give New York some insurance.
Chapman then struck out the side in the bottom half of the ninth to seal the win for New York.
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Luis Severino faces Dallas Keuchel in the third game of this four-game set, tomorrow.
Current Yankees Record: 19-10