After a miserable homestand, a front-office shakeup, and a day of uncertainty surrounding their manager, the Houston Astros needed something to go right.
Yainer Diaz made sure plenty did Tuesday night.
Diaz homered twice and drove in three runs, Yordan Alvarez delivered a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning, and the Astros repeatedly answered the Yankees in a 9-7 win at Yankee Stadium. Houston collected 14 hits, erased three New York leads, and returned to .500 at 66-66.
Then the White Sox provided a little help. Their 11-7 win over the Rangers dropped Texas to 66-67, allowing Houston to reclaim sole possession of first place in the AL West by half a game.
For a team that arrived in New York having lost six of eight games and three consecutive home series, it was quite a change of scenery.
Yainer Diaz Leads an Offensive Awakening
The Astros struck first against Yankees starter Will Warren when Diaz launched a solo home run to left-center in the second inning. Jose Altuve singled in the third, advanced to second on a passed ball, and scored on Daulton Varsho’s two-out single to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
The lead disappeared quickly. Rookie Ethan Pecko walked Trent Grisham and allowed a single to Luis GarcÃa Jr. in the bottom of the third before Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer to put New York ahead 3-2.
Houston tied it in the fifth after Alvarez singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, and eventually scored on another two-out single from Varsho. GarcÃa answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer off Pecko, restoring the Yankees’ lead at 5-3.
This time, Jeremy Peña had the answer. Diaz walked with one out in the sixth, and Peña drove a two-run homer to left-center to tie the game 5-5. It was Peña’s 15th home run of the season and continued a resurgence after a difficult stretch at the plate.
Astros Refuse to Stay Behind
New York went ahead for a third time in the seventh. Steven Okert walked Grisham, allowed a single to Ben Rice, and GarcÃa doubled home Grisham for a 6-5 Yankees lead. Bryan Abreu entered with runners at the corners and two outs and retired George Lombard Jr. to prevent further damage.
Again, Houston answered.
Diaz tied the game in the eighth with his second home run of the night, driving a Brent Headrick fastball over the right-field wall. Two outs later, Peña singled and Alvarez ripped a triple to right field to score him and give Houston its first lead since the third inning.
Isaac Paredes followed with an RBI single that scored Alvarez and stretched the lead to 8-6.
The sequence was particularly welcome after opposing teams spent much of the recent homestand finding ways to keep the bat out of Alvarez’s hands. This time the Yankees pitched to him in a crucial situation, and he made them pay.
Alvarez finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Peña had two hits, scored twice, and drove in two, while Paredes reached three times. But the night belonged to Diaz, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI—and he wasn’t finished after his two home runs.
One More Run for Hader
The Yankees cut Houston’s lead to 8-7 in the bottom of the eighth when Spencer Jones doubled and Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled him home. Abreu then induced Austin Wells into a double play before José Caballero singled with two outs.
That brought Josh Hader into the game for a four-out save attempt, and he struck out Grisham to end the threat.
Houston gave him some insurance in the ninth. Cam Smith tripled with two outs, and Diaz singled him home for his third RBI of the night and a 9-7 lead.
Hader needed just three outs in the bottom of the ninth. Rice flied out, GarcÃa popped out, and Bellinger flied out to finish Hader’s 19th save in 19 opportunities.
A Rough Second Start for Ethan Pecko
Pecko’s second major-league start was considerably tougher than his debut. The rookie allowed five runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out one. Both Bellinger’s three-run homer and GarcÃa’s two-run shot followed walks.
Bennett Sousa provided exactly what Houston needed after Pecko departed, retiring all five batters he faced over 1 2/3 innings. Okert and Abreu each allowed a run before Hader closed it out.
The pitching was hardly pristine, but on this night, it didn’t need to be. Houston’s offense produced 14 hits, with five Astros recording multi-hit games. The Astros scored in six different innings and, most importantly, refused to let any Yankees lead survive for long.
Back on Top
One win doesn’t erase what happened at Daikin Park. The Astros still have plenty to fix, and one night of offense doesn’t guarantee that the lineup’s August problems have disappeared.
But after losing six of eight on the homestand and surrendering first place to Texas on Monday, Houston responded with exactly the kind of game the club desperately needed. The Astros went into Yankee Stadium, traded punches with a contender, and kept getting back up.
A few hours later, the Rangers lost 11-7 to the White Sox.
Twenty-four hours after falling out of first place, the Astros are 66-66 and back atop the AL West by half a game.
After the week they’ve had, that’s a pretty good place to start again.
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