Youngsters lead Yankees to second straight victory over Astros
The Yankees' Austin Wells watches his RBI sacrifice fly during the fifth inning of the a game against the Astros on Saturday. Credit: AP/Kevin M. Cox
HOUSTON — The Yankees, fully committed to their youth movement in what has been a lost season, started five rookies in their lineup for a second straight game Saturday.
And though there wasn’t anything approaching the theater provided Friday night by Jasson Dominguez — who homered off Justin Verlander in his first big-league at-bat — the quintet totaled six hits and three RBIs in a 5-4 victory over the Astros in front of a sellout crowd of 41,427 at Minute Maid Park.
“They’re bringing great energy,” said Aaron Judge, who hit his 31st home run (in 82 games) in the third inning.
It was a far quieter night for Dominguez (1-for-5), though the 20-year-old centerfielder did reach base twice and score a run, but Oswald Peraza (three hits), Austin Wells and Everson Pereira each had an RBI.
It was the Yankees’ second straight victory in a ballpark that in the last decade has brought little but frustration and even tears to the franchise.
“This group of guys that we have, just impressive,” Judge said of the rookies. “Their demeanor, the way they carry themselves on the field. Feel like they’ve been here all year. It’s impressive to see that out of guys that young in a tough environment, a loud environment, and they’re just out there playing good ball. It’s pretty cool to see.”
Oswaldo Cabrera, who exceeded rookie limits last season but who is only 24, also drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
In the fifth, Wells lifted a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI to tie it at 4-4 and Pereira’s two-out RBI single gave the Yankees (67-69) a 5-4 lead. Terrific relief work by Jhony Brito, Wandy Peralta and Clay Holmes made it stand up.
After Luis Severino allowed four runs and six hits in four taxing innings — the Astros fouled off a remarkable 41 of his 104 pitches — Brito, another rookie, threw 3 2⁄3 scoreless innings. Peralta hit Yordan Alvarez with two outs in the eighth but got Kyle Tucker to fly out to right.
Holmes retired the first two hitters in the ninth before Yainer Diaz reached on an infield single, a high chopper to the right of the mound that the righthander couldn’t field cleanly. Holmes then struck out pinch hitter Jon Singleton looking for his 17th save in 20 chances.
“Just wanted to attack,” Brito said through his interpreter. “Use my strengths, try to execute as many pitches as I could. It was important for me to get ahead . . . They have a really good lineup.”
Severino, 4-8 with a 6.64 ERA coming in but with a streak of 13 2⁄3 scoreless innings in his previous two starts, could not build on that momentum. He allowed two-run homers by Michael Brantley and Diaz, though his stuff overall wasn’t bad.
“Unique,” Severino said of the number of foul balls against him. “I haven’t seen that my whole career. They made me work. Really hard.”
Severino’s fastball hit 99 mph several times and he said of his stuff: “Really good. I feel everything was there. Fastball was really good.”
The Yankees took the lead in the second. Giancarlo Stanton, one homer away from 400 for his career, bounced a single to center and Anthony Volpe walked. Wells struck out on a curveball in the dirt, but Pereira walked to load the bases. Peraza dumped a curveball into center for an RBI single and Hunter Brown walked Cabrera on a full-count fastball for a 2-0 lead. DJ LeMahieu grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the 29-pitch inning.
After the Astros tied it in the second on Brantley’s two-run homer, his first of the season, Judge led off the third with his 31st homer, smashing a first-pitch slider 428 feet to right-center for a 3-2 lead.
The Astros (77-60) took a 4-3 lead in the fourth on Diaz’s two-run shot, but the Yankees scored two unearned runs in the fifth to retake the lead for good.
“We couldn’t hit that backbreaking blow tonight, but a lot of really, really competitive at-bats,” Aaron Boone said. “The amount of competitive at-bats tonight from guys was really good.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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