Yankees get hot at plate, use four-run 7th to defeat Astros
Yankees leftfielder Cody Bellinger hits a go-ahead two-run double against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Cody Bellinger hit a go-ahead double with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and the Yankees pulled away for a 9-3 victory over the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.
Bellinger snapped a 3-3 tie when he drove a 1-1 fastball from Bennett Sousa (1-3) off the top of the centerfield fence to drive in Trent Grisham and Ben Rice. The clutch swing came after Luis Garcia Jr. reached on an infield single when Sousa didn’t cover first base in time on a grounder to the right side.
Spencer Jones added an RBI single in the seventh and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a run-scoring double. Chisholm singled twice and finished with his third three-hit game of the season.
Rice launched his 35th homer in the first inning and Garcia tacked on a two-run shot in the eighth. Garcia had three more hits after going 4-for-5 in Tuesday night’s defeat.
Rice’s homer pulled him within one of Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez for the American League lead and marked the first time in 24 games the Yankees scored in an opening inning.
The Yankees (75-57) won for the 11th time in 17 games and remained 3 1⁄2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and 2 1⁄2 ahead of Boston for the league’s top wild card.
Yankees rookie Elmer Rodriguez allowed three runs and three hits over six-plus innings in his first major league start since June 21. The righthander was lifted after walking Jose Altuve, and the Astros (66-67) tied it against Paul Blackburn when Christian Walker’s grounder caromed off George Lombard Jr.’s glove for the rookie shortstop’s sixth error in 19 career games.
Michael Fulmer struck out Alvarez to start a 1-2-3 eighth in his Yankees debut.
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