Yankees score six late to cruise past Astros 9-3

The Yankees took down the Astros 9-3 thanks to six runs late in the ballgame. Elmer Rodríguez got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Peter Lambert. 

“We've been putting together good at-bats,” Cody Bellinger said. “These are the things that we can do as a lineup. And it's been fun recently.”

Rodríguez struck out the first two batters of the ballgame, but then ran into trouble. After walling a batter, Rodríguez allowed an RBI double to Jose Altuve due to Trent Grisham misplaying a ball in center field to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  

The Yankees quickly responded in the bottom of the first as they broke up a streak of 23 consecutive games without a run in the first inning. Ben Rice crushed a solo shot to right field, his 35th of the season to tie the game. Luis Garcia Jr. then lined a single to left field. Cody Bellinger then reached second base thanks to an error, and Garcia moved up to third. George Lombard Jr. gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout. 

Rodríguez worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 shutdown top of the second inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts to quickly put his total up to four for the ballgame. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the bottom of the second inning with an infield single, then swiped second base, his 36th stolen base of the year. Austin Wells followed with a walk. José Caballero then failed to lay down a bunt as he popped it up. Rice worked a walk to load the bases with two outs. Garcia just missed a grand slam, hooking it a few feet foul, then flew out to end the inning. 

Daulton Varsho tied the game up at 2-2 with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning. 

In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Jazz, Wells and Caballero all singled to load the bases with nobody out. Grisham bounced into a double play, but a run came across to score, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead. 

Rodríguez retired the side in order in the top of the fifth to work a shutdown inning and notched his fifth punchout of the ballgame. 

With one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jazz worked a walk to reach base for the third time tonight. Jazz then attempted to steal second base and looked safe, but after review it was not overturned, resulting in him being thrown out, and Aaron Boone was rightfully very upset. 

Rodríguez came back out for the top of the seventh and walked Altuve on four pitches. Paul Blackburn replaced Rodríguez on the mound, and he walked off the mound to a nice standing ovation after the best start of his young career. Blackburn immediately allowed a double, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out. It looked like Blackburn picked up the first out on a routine ground ball to shortstop, but Lombard botched it for his fifth error in as many games and allowed the tying run to score. Blackburn made a nice play to hang up the go-ahead run between home plate and third base, then picked up a pair of strikeouts to keep the game tied. 

Final line for Rodríguez: Six plus innings pitched, three hits allowed, three earned runs, walked two, and struck out six on 88 pitches. He threw his sinker over half the time at 56%, the curveball 25%, the fastball 9%, the sweeper 6%, and the changeup 5%. Rodríguez sat at 97.1 mph, topping out at 98.5 mph, and had 11 whiffs. 

“I feel like it's one of my best starts ever since the start,” Rodríguez said. “I feel good. I was attacking hitters, and I feel comfortable, and I felt like I had a good outing.”

The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning, thanks to a single from Grisham, a walk from Rice, and an infield single from Garcia. Belli just missed a grand slam, but trotted into second base with a two-run double to give the Yankees the lead.

“Just kept it simple,” Belli said. “Obviously, it was a tie game late in the game and didn't try to do too much.”

Spencer Jones then tacked on another run with an RBI single into right field. Jazz followed with an RBI double to make it a 7-3 game, his third knock of the night. 

“I know we're trying to make it to the playoffs, and I really want to win the World Series,” Jazz said. “So I'm just trying to get ready and do my best to get us there and win the World Series. That's it.”

Former AL Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer, who robbed former Yankee Gary Sanchez, took over for Blackburn on the mound in the top of the eighth after being signed to a Major League contract earlier today. Fulmer worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning in his Yankee debut. 

“It felt good to be back out there in situations like that,” Fulmer said. “It's always easier when you're supposed to be in the game in a 3-3 ballgame, and we score four runs on the bottom of the seventh there. It's nice. You can breathe a little bit better.”

With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Rice worked his third walk of the night. Then Garcia followed with his third hit of the night in the form of a two-run bomb to extend the Yankees' lead to 9-3. 

Tim Hill got the call for the top half of the ninth and retired the side in order to give the Yankees the win and set up a rubber game tomorrow. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow with Gerrit Cole on the mound facing off against former Yankee farmhand Hayden Wesneski. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Great win tonight all around, as the offense showed up in a big way with nine runs and 13 hits. And Rodríguez put together the best start of his young career. Is it crazy to say I trust Rodríguez more than Will Warren right now? Blackburn allowed a double and walked a batter, but ended up settling in after that to keep the game tied. Fulmer looked great in his Yankee debut. Then Hill did his job in the ninth inning with a scoreless frame. Also, Aaron Boone just announced that Fernando Cruz has a partial UCL tear, so his season is likely over. It would have been nice if Brian Cashman had traded for some bullpen depth at the deadline. Lombard also made another error tonight, his fifth straight game with one. I still have nothing but faith in the kid, but he might need a day off tomorrow to reset. Garcia is starting to heat up as he had three more hits tonight after a four-hit night last night, including a home run. Jazz also had three hits tonight, maybe his best game of the year; it would be nice to get him going down the stretch. Rice also crushed his 35th bomb of the year and reached base four times thanks to three walks. Belli had a couple of RBIs on a two-run double; it has been so nice to have him back in the lineup. Just a great win all around, aside from the Lombard error, but no harm, no foul. On to tomorrow as the Yankees have a great opportunity to win the series.