The Yankees battled back to salvage a split with Houston after avoiding some potentially disastrous history.
Aaron Judge walked over to the stands and handed over his bat to Spike Lee, a Yankees fan best known for writing Hollywood dramas.
The Astros-Yankees series this weekend had all the ups, downs, and twist endings that fans could handle. When baseball’s award season arrives, expect critics to scrutinize Judge’s leading role.
Judge hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against the Astros in four days, and New York beat Houston 6-3 on Sunday after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game.
Giancarlo Stanton’s one-out, 111-mph homer in the seventh inning ended New York’s historic hitless streak, and DJ LeMahieu followed with a tying two-run drive in the eighth, as New York split a four-game series against the AL’s top teams.
In the 10th inning, after Michael King stranded the bases loaded, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-strike bunt that moved automatic runner Aaron Hicks to third. Seth Martinez, the right-hander, intentionally walked pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter and struck out LeMahieu to set up a two-out showdown with the Judge.
Judge lifted the major league-leading Yankees, just as he did on Thursday, when he broke a 6-all tie with a single in the ninth. His 112 mph slider to left-center landed in the visiting bullpen for his 28th home run of the season.
With their 10th walkoff victory of the season – and Judge’s third – the Yankees improved to 53-20, matching the third-best 73-game start in major league history since 1930, trailing only the 2001 Mariners and the 1998 Yankees.
When Judge and Stanton homer in the same game, they are 24-1, including 8-0 this season.
They didn’t hit like a juggernaut for the majority of the weekend.
José Urquidy was eight outs away from completing Houston’s second consecutive no-hitter when Stanton connected, cutting the Astros’ lead to 3-1. The Yankees had gone 0 for 52 since the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss on Friday night, a stretch that included a combined no-hitter on Saturday by Cristian Javier, Héctor Neris, and Ryan Pressly.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, New York’s 116 consecutive innings without a hit are tied for the longest streak in the Expansion Era (since 1961) with the 1981 Dodgers and the 1973 Athletics. That season, both of those teams won the World Series. No team has ever been no-hit in consecutive games, though the St. Louis Browns no-hit the Chicago White Sox on consecutive days in 1917 (the second gem came in the second game of a doubleheader).
After New York’s defense slipped up twice in the 10th, King (5-1) had to wiggle out of trouble. Jose Altuve’s grounder was booted by shortstop Kiner-Falefa, and catcher Jose Trevino‘s attempt to pick off Jason Castro at second base backfired when Castro took third.
To load the bases, King walked Alex Bregman with one out before retiring Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel. During his at-bat against Bregman, King hit 100 mph for the first time in his career.
After eliminating the Red Sox from the postseason three times since 2015, including during their scandal-tainted title run in 2017, the Astros have become just as despised in the Bronx as the rival Red Sox. A crowd of 44,028 sagged in their seats for the majority of the afternoon, with the biggest cheers coming early on for a cloud that briefly shaded the blazing afternoon sun.
Altuve silenced his critics by crushing Nestor Cortes’ first pitch, tying ex-teammate George Springer for the major league lead with seven leadoff home runs. In the fourth, Mauricio Dubón added a two-run single.
Altuve also stole two bases and walked twice.
With right shoulder discomfort, Houston star Michael Brantley was replaced in the eighth inning. The five-time All-Star went 0 for 3 and his batting average dropped to.288.
The Astros were also without slugger Yordan Alvarez, who was out with a lingering hand injury. In the ninth inning, he pinch-hit for Clay Holmes and was intentionally walked.
Gleyber Torres of the New York Yankees was stranded at third base in the ninth inning after turning his right ankle and being easily picked off while writhing in the dirt. Boone stated that he has a minor sprain.
Stanek’s scoreless streak in the AL was extended to 19 1/3 innings. Prior to Judge’s blast, Martinez (0-1) had the second-longest run at 17 2/3 innings, helping Houston enter with a major league-best 2.63 ERA.
Baker stated that he did not consider walking Judge, who was being hit from behind by Anthony Rizzo. He also stated that Pressly and Neris would not be available after pitching on Saturday.
Urquidy only allowed one hit in seven innings. On 98 pitches, he walked three and struck out three.
In the first inning, plate umpire Mike Muchlinski took a foul tip off his mask and staggered back before being grabbed by Yankees catcher Jose Trevino. Before remaining behind the plate, Muchlinski conferred with a trainer and the rest of the umpiring crew. Three umpires were used to complete the game.
UP NEXT
Yankees: LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 2.97 ERA) faces Oakland RHP Paul Blackburn (6-3, 2.97) to open a three-game home set.
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