The Houston Astros got absolutely cooked by the New York Yankees Wednesday night, taking a brutal 9-3 loss that saw the game completely blow open in the seventh inning. It wasn’t just a loss, it was a gut punch that evened their three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
The Seventh Inning implosion Was Ugly
Things went off the rails faster than you can say “swing and a miss” when Astros reliever Bennett Sousa took the mound in the seventh with the game tied 3-3. Sousa, pitching for the fourth time in six days for what’s clearly a beleaguered Astros bullpen, gave up four runs. It started with a Trent Grisham flare single and a Ben Rice eight-pitch walk. Luis García Jr. beat out an infield single, and just like that, the bases were loaded. Cody Bellinger then ripped a two-run double off the center-field fence, Spencer Jones lined a run-scoring single, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. arced another double off the left-field wall. Suddenly, it was a four-run deficit. Manager Joe Espada didn’t mince words after the game, admitting, “We just couldn’t stop the bleeding there.” To pile on, García increased the lead in the eighth with a two-run home run off Enyel De Los Santos. The Yankees piled up 13 hits, while Houston only mustered four.
Missed Opportunities and a Shaky Offense
It wasn’t just the bullpen that struggled, though. The Astros had their own golden chance to take the lead in the seventh when they were trailing 3-2. Jose Altuve led off with a walk, then Daulton Varsho doubled, putting Altuve on third. Christian Walker hit a chopper to shortstop George Lombard Jr., who misplayed it, letting Altuve score and leaving men on first and third with no outs. But Yankees reliever Paul Blackburn somehow escaped with the tie intact, tagging Varsho out in a rundown after a comebacker, walking LaMonte Wade Jr. to load the bases, and then striking out Christian Vázquez and Jeremy Peña. Espada actually defended not pinch-hitting Yainer Diaz, who’d homered twice Tuesday, for Vázquez. “In that situation, no,” Espada said. “Against that particular pitcher, Vázquez’s bat-to-ball skills, he’s one of our best hitters with men in scoring position. It was a tied game at the time, I really like the way he’s calling games. So I figured the least I’m going to get is a ball put in play, and Blackburn executed his pitches and did a nice job.” Houston’s only other scoring came from an Altuve double in the first and Varsho’s solo homer in the fourth off Yankees starter Elmer Rodríguez. Their anemic offense meant they dropped back below .500, though they are still atop the American League West by a half-game after the Rangers’ loss.
The good news, if you can call it that, is the Astros didn’t use their top leverage arms Steven Okert, Bryan Abreu, or Josh Hader in the loss. That means they should all be fresh and ready for Thursday’s series finale. They’re going to need them to stop the bleeding and try to salvage a split against the Yankees.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply