In the third clash between these two American League contenders, the Yankees would hope to collect their first series win of the year. The Astros, who dropped the first two games of this series, were looking to put their six-game losing streak at Minute Maid Park that spans since the start of the ALCS. Marcus Stroman would make his debut with the Yankees, hoping to get off to a good start and leave a strong first impression with a rotation that’s still covered in question marks.
With a series win on the line, the Yankees were able to storm back after being down 3-1 as late as the seventh inning, as Oswaldo Cabrera and Juan Soto showed up once more for another comeback win.
Marcus Stroman Turns In Strong Debut, Yankees Come Back Once More
The Yankees were not sharp behind Marcus Stroman, but he was excellent in his debut outing, tossing six innings of three-run baseball with none of those runs being charged against him. Errors were their undoing, as Stroman was masterful with his contact management while also picking up four strikeouts in the process.
Coming off of an All-Star season, Marcus Stroman struggled heavily in the second half, so getting off to a good start would prove to be extremely important to put any doubts to bed. It’s a long season, but this first start certainly gives the Yankees confidence after they signed him to a two-year $37 million contract in the winter.
His nastiest pitch was the cutter, as Stroman generated a 56% Whiff Rate on it, and collected 13 swings-and-misses in the outing. While Marcus Stroman didn’t walk away with the win in his first-ever start with the Yankees, he was one of the catalysts in their comeback, as he kept the team in the game and fought through multiple errors on the defensive side of things to shut down the Astros’ lineup.
What else can you say about Oswaldo Cabrera at this point? After leading the way in their comeback wins on Thursday and Friday, he once again showed up when the Yankees needed him most. His second home run of the season was another game-tying blast off of Bryan Abreu, as he took advantage of the Houston bullpen and knotted things up at three apiece.
After Trent Grisham was caught leaning off of first base, it seemed the Yankees’ rally would come to a screeching halt, but the generational Juan Soto stepped up to the plate ready to become a hero again. Slicing a ball to left field, he just squeaks it over the Crawford Boxes for his first home run with the Bronx Bombers, giving them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
In the following inning, Anthony Volpe would collect his first home run of the young season, putting the Yankees ahead by two runs and giving their bullpen even more insurance to work with. Speaking of their bullpen, they were once again marvelous as they held the Astros to zero runs and slammed the door shut on a Houston lineup eager to get back into the win column.
Ian Hamilton came in relief of Marcus Stroman and tossed two perfect innings with two strikeouts, continuing to be a force in their bullpen. The Yankees are happy they stumbled onto the right-hander, whom they signed to a MiLB contract last offseason and have team control over for multiple seasons after this one. Clay Holmes would close things out in the ninth, collecting his second save of the season in a much cleaner fashion.
Austin Wells, Aaron Judge, and Gleyber Torres would all reach base multiple times in the contest, continuing the team’s trend of working counts as they saw 177 pitches in the contest. The Yankees will wrap things up in Houston with a 2:35 PM start as Clarke Schmidt will take the bump against J.P. France, as they look to sweep the Astros for a second time in two years at Minute Maid Park.