NEW YORK — For the third time in seven days, Devin Williams couldn’t close the door. His latest late-inning collapse Friday night sent the New York Yankees to a crushing 5-3, 10-inning loss to the Houston Astros in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium.
The loss was the Yankees’ sixth in their last seven games and dropped them to 61-55, clinging to a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the American League’s final wild card spot. Since June 13, New York has gone just 19-30, watching a comfortable postseason position dissolve into a tense race.
Astros strike early behind Altuve
Houston wasted no time taking control. In his first plate appearance, Jose Altuve — still showered with boos in the Bronx for his role in the 2017 sign-stealing scandal — turned on Cam Schlittler’s first pitch to him and sent it 389 feet over the left-field wall for a two-run homer, his 20th of the season.
Schlittler, making his fifth career start, settled down after the early blow. The rookie right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings, walking one, hitting one batter, and striking out three on a career-high 97 pitches.
Cody Bellinger helped keep the deficit manageable in the fourth inning, throwing out Taylor Trammell at home from right field on Cam Smith’s single after an aggressive send by Houston third base coach Tony Perezchica.
Brown silences Yankees bats
Astros starter Hunter Brown looked like an AL Cy Young contender through the first five innings. After Ben Rice doubled with one out in the first, Brown retired the next 14 Yankees hitters. He allowed only one baserunner during that stretch and left the game with one out in the sixth after the Yankees finally broke through.
Yankees rally in the sixth
New York’s offense finally showed signs of life in the sixth inning. Ryan McMahon led off with a walk, and Austin Wells followed with a double down the right-field line. Rice lined an RBI single to right to score McMahon, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Aaron Judge followed with a bloop RBI single to center to tie the game and chase Brown from the mound.
Reliever Bennett Sousa stopped the rally by striking out Bellinger and getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out softly, stranding the go-ahead run on base.
Boone runs out of options
Manager Aaron Boone pieced together four scoreless innings from Yerry De los Santos, Camilo Doval, and Luke Weaver. Weaver, who threw 19 pitches in the ninth, was not an option for the 10th. Boone also stayed away from David Bednar after his 42-pitch save Wednesday and from Mark Leiter Jr., who had pitched Tuesday and Wednesday. With a pocket of right-handed hitters due, lefty Tim Hill was not considered.
That left Williams, who had already blown games Monday and Tuesday in Texas, and had given up at least one run in each of his last four appearances.
Williams unravels in the 10th
Williams entered to boos before throwing a pitch, and his first offering was a wild pitch that moved automatic runner Altuve to third. Carlos Correa followed with a single up the middle against a drawn-in infield to give Houston a 3-2 lead.
Williams got two outs, including a bizarre force at second after Amed Rosario crashed into the right-field wall trying to catch Yainer Diaz’s drive. But with two outs, Trammell — who played five games for the Yankees last season — crushed an 0-1 changeup 383 feet into the right-field seats for a two-run homer.
“The [changeup] to Trammell was terrible,” Williams said. “I’m not making pitches. It’s pretty simple. I stink right now.”
The right-hander has now allowed nine runs, seven hits, and four walks over 4⅔ innings in his last five appearances, giving up four home runs in his last eight games. His ERA rose to 5.73.
Boone acknowledged Williams’ struggles but said his options were limited.
“Obviously right now, several struggles now in a row,” Boone said. “We just try and find softer landing spots. Harder to do that right now when you have a shorter outing by the starter, you’re piecing it together and you got a guy down.”
Late rally falls short
Anthony Volpe’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th off Josh Hader cut the deficit to 5-3, and pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton walked to bring the winning run to the plate. But Trent Grisham lined out to center to end the game.
Williams said he is still searching for answers.
“I’m close,” he said. “You go back in all these games, it’s come down to essentially one mistake, and they’re making me pay for it. So yeah, it’s been tough.”
Playoff picture tightening
The Yankees now sit 2½ games behind Seattle for the second AL wild card, with Cleveland just a half-game back and Texas 1½ games behind. The Guardians beat the White Sox Friday, while the Rangers lost to the Phillies.
New York has not had a starter complete six innings since July 30, when Will Warren did it in a win. With the rotation struggling to provide length, the bullpen — once a strength — has been overexposed.
Boone’s club will try to even the series Saturday afternoon when Luis Gil faces Houston’s Framber Valdez. For the Yankees, every game now has October urgency.
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