That was not the case for the Yankees against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park last night. Tanaka allowed 4 runs in the 1st 3 innings, and was gone after 5. Making their returns to the club, Adam Warren pitched a scoreless 6th, and the recalled Luis Severino pitched the 7th and the 8th while allowing only 1 baserunner, so that was good news.
This time, it was the bats that let the Yankees down. Brian McCann hit his 15th home run of the season in the 4th inning, off Astro starter Lance McCullers Jr. Other than that, the Yankees only got 4 singles: 2 by Didi Gregorius, and 1 each by Brett Gardner and Mark Teixeira.
Astros 4, Yankees 1. WP: McCullers (6-4 -- he may already be a better pitcher than his father was). SV: Will Harris (11). LP: Tanaka (7-3).
The Yankees have a travel day today. Tomorrow night, they begin a 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. Here are the projected pitching matchups:
* Tomorrow, 7:10 PM: Ivan Nova vs. Jake Odorizzi.
* Saturday, 6:10 PM: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Drew Smyly.
* Sunday, 1:10 PM: Michael Pineda vs. Blake Snell.
Come on you Bombers!