The 4-game home series with the Houston Astros that concluded last night was the Yankees' most serious test of the season. And, up until the bottom of the 8th inning, it looked as though they had failed it.
They won the 1st game, 7-6, needing a comeback from 6-3 down in the bottom of the 9th, capped by an Aaron Judge walkoff single. They lost the 2nd game, 3-1. They lost the 3rd game, 3-0, with 3 Astro pitchers combining to throw a no-hitter.
Last night, up until the bottom of the 8th, it looked as though everything the Yankees had accomplished this season was meaningless, because, while the Boston Red Sox have not yet been a factor this season, and the Yankees have handled the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, they hadn't yet played the Astros, whom they haven't been able to handle for years, since they got good in 2015.
Nestor Cortes started for the Yankees, and he was not the Nasty Nestor of earlier in the season, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings. Of course, he allowed a leadoff home run to José Altuve, who, though righthanded and short, has replaced David Ortiz as the cheating player stuck inside the Yankees' heads.
The bullpen was excellent: Between them, Miguel Castro, Wandy Peralta, Clay Holmes and Michael King went 5 innings, allowing no runs, 1 hit and 3 walks (but no more than 1 in any inning). But, except for the 1st and 9th innings on Thursday night, the Yankees simply hadn't been able to hit in this series.
They didn't even get a baserunner until Anthony Rizzo drew a walk with 2 out in the bottom of the 4th. Josh Donaldson led off the 5th with a walk, but there would be no cliché this time: A double play ended the threat. DJ LeMahieu drew a walk with 2 out in the bottom of the 6th, to no avail.
It was beginning to look like the Astros would pull off a feat never previously achieved in Major League Baseball: A team pitching no-hitters in back-to-back games. But with 1 out in the 7th, Giancarlo Stanton cranked a home run into Monument Park. In the 8th, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled, and LeMahieu homered to tie it up.
It went to extra innings, and the Astros loaded the bases in the top of the 10th. But King worked out of it. IKF bunted ghost runner Aaron Hicks over to 3rd, setting up the game-winning sacrifice fly. But Matt Carpenter was intentionally walked (his run would mean nothing), and LeMahieu struck out.
Here came da Judge. There went da ball. He hit the ball off the Jersey Mike's sign in the visiting team bullpen, sending 44,000 people into paroxysms of joy. For the 2nd time in 4 days, Judge had a walkoff hit against the cheaters.
Yankees 6, Astros 3. WP: King (5-1). No save. LP: Seth Martinez (0-1).
Of course, all this did was gain the Yankees a split. And while they could have swept, they also could have been swept. The Astros, especially Altuve, are still in our heads.
There was an additional worry: Gleyber Torres left the game due to a sprained ankle. He's listed as day-to-day, and is not yet on the Injured List.
Additional injury updates: Aroldis Chapman is expected back early next week, Jonathan Loáisiga and Domingo Germán probably soon after the All-Star Break, Zack Britton possibly in September.
The Yankees are now 53-20, a .726 percentage, a pace for 117 wins. The Red Sox are now in 2nd place, 11 games back. The Rays and the Jays are both 12 1/2 back, and the hopeless Baltimore Orioles are 19 1/2 back. And, in the race for best record in the AL, and thus home-field advantage in the Playoffs, the Astros trail the Yankees by 7 1/2 games. But we will still need to go to Houston next weekend and beat them, because it's long past time to send them a message. No message was sent this past weekend, that's for sure.
Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game home series against the Oakland Athletics, before going down to Houston for another 4-game Thursday-to-Sunday series against the Astros. At 25-49, the A's have the worst record in baseball, behind the Cincinnati Reds at 25-47. Jordan Montgomery starts for us, Paul Blackburn for them.