The Yankees had a chance to win their four-game series against the Astros on Sunday, but they had to settle for a split after Houston won the finale, 9-7, by launching four home runs.
Two of those came from the Astros’ No. 8 hitter, Jake Meyers. The outfielder crushed a pair of three-run shots in the second and sixth innings. The initial homer, hit off Carlos Rodón, followed a missed check-swing call on Jeremy Peña.
The Astros’ other longballs were supplied by Yordan Alvarez and Martín Maldonado in the third and sixth innings, respectively. Alvarez drilled a two-run blast to right.
The Yankees actually started the homer parade when Gleyber Torres went deep with no one on in the first inning, but most of their runs came from going station to station with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. That frame saw the Yankees score runs on a Harrison Bader single, an Anthony Volpe hit-by-pitch and walks from Jake Bauers and Aaron Judge.
Torres added an RBI double in the sixth, while Bader came up with another bases-loaded single in the eighth. But that wasn’t enough for the Yankees to top their rivals, who occupy a wild card spot.
It didn’t help that Rodón pitched poorly before departing after 2.2 innings with left hamstring tightness.
Rodón, making his sixth start for the Yankees, allowed Meyers’ first home run and the Alvarez dinger. The southpaw totaled three hits, five earned runs, two walks, five strikeouts and 58 pitches. He now has a 7.33 ERA this season.
Despite leaving with an injury, Rodón exited to a chorus of boos after another subpar performance.
Wandy Peralta allowed Meyers’ second home run and Maldonado’s jack.
José Urquidy, Houston’s starter, didn’t last long either in his return from a shoulder injury. The righty tallied 3.1 innings, three hits, five earned runs, three walks, one strikeout and 62 pitches.
With the Astros series ending on a sour note, the Yankees packed their bags for Chicago, where they begin a three-game set with the White Sox on Monday.
Gerrit Cole will start the opener, which is good news for the Yankees. They are 9-0 when their ace pitches after a loss this season, and Cole has a 2.19 ERA in those starts.
Dylan Cease will pitch for the Sox on Monday, while Clarke Schmidt will face Touki Toussaint on Tuesday. The White Sox will throw Mike Clevinger on Wednesday, which lines up with Luis Severino’s next scheduled start. However, on Sunday, Aaron Boone did not commit to the struggling Severino making his next start.
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