Yankees slug past Astros for 8th straight win
NEW YORK -- Even with both Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres out of the line-up, the Yankee offense continued to roll as the team defeated the Astros, 7-5, earlier today at the Stadium.
It was the team's eighth win in a row and with both the Rays and Red Sox losing today, the Bombers are now 5.5 games up for first place in the American League East.
Giancarlo Stanton starred in tonight's victory with two huge hits for four RBIs tonight. Both rocket singles to third base put the Yankees up by two, with the latter putting them up for good.
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Gio Urshela set the tone for the Bombers with a fifth inning two-run home run against Wade Miley. Even with less playing time since the return of many of the team's regulars, Urshela continues to produce when given the chance.
The home run also tied a team record as it was the team's 25th straight game with a round tripper.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, their two-run lead didn't hold up for very long with Josh Reddick taking Masahiro Tanaka deep the very next half inning.
While it wasn't a 9-inning gem like last start, Tanaka was still productive going six strong, while giving up just the two runs on eight hits. He did only strikeout one Astro all night, however.
Stanton gave the team the lead back immediately, but the Astros fought right back in the seventh inning. With two outs, two straight singles against Jonathan Holder put two men on for rookie sensation Yordan Alvarez.
And just like he has all series, the left-handed slugger delivered with a three-run shot to put Houston back on top.
It could've been a lot worse for the Yankees but luckily for Holder, Aaron Judge made a sensational play in right field to get Max Stassi out at second for the second out of the frame.
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To protect their lead, the Astros went to Ryan Pressly who owned a 0.82 ERA. Right away, though, Austin Romine of all people took him deep to tie the game at five.
Then, after a single and catcher's interference, Stanton drove in the game's winning runs to make tonight Pressly's worst outing of the season.
With Aroldis Chapman getting the night off, Aaron Boone went with Zack Britton to close it out. Though he made it interesting with three walks to load the bases, Britton got Tyler White to flyout to right field to end the game. It was Britton's third save of the season.
The Bombers go for the sweep tomorrow in a matchup that will feature J.A. Happ and Houston ace Justin Verlander.
Current Yankees Record: 49-27