You can never count out the Houston Astros against some of the top competition. The Astros have shown over the years how they step up against the best.
Nothing demonstrated that better than the two-day turnaround from losing a home series to the worst team in baseball in the Athletics on Sunday and blowing a 6-0 lead, to then showing up at Yankee Stadium on a Tuesday night and coming through with one of the most crucial and impressive wins of the season.
The Astros beat the New York Yankees 9-7 in what became an incredible, back-and-forth contest throughout, featuring five home runs and a relentless come-from-behind effort. Houston is now back to .500 at 66-66 and has also returned to first place in the American League West.
While the series loss to the Athletics was poor, that was added onto a tumultuous past few days as the Astros parted ways with general manager Dana Brown, and manager Joe Espada was dealing with a family emergency.
Many were wondering how the Astros would come out and look, and it's now clear. This team delivered in the first game against the Yankees, and here's how they did it. It was led by catcher Yainer Diaz, who had his third multi-homer game of his career and a season high in RBIs with three. Some positive momentum has been built, which is huge considering how much the Astros needed it.
Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader celebrates with catcher Yainer Diaz after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With rookie starter Ethan Pecko on the mound, it was obvious the Astros needed to score a lot of runs to stay competitive. And boy did they. The Astros scored the nine runs on 14 hits with six out of the nine runs in the last four innings. They came back from behind four different times.
The Astros got out to a hot 2-0 start, and it began by Diaz's solo shot in the second inning. Centerfielder Daulton Varsho added an RBI single in the third. The Yankees responded in the bottom of the third with a three-run homer by Cody Bellinger.
Varsho chipped in again with another RBI single in the fifth that tied the game at 3. New York had the quick answer again as Luis Garcia Jr. smoked a two-run bomb for the 5-3 lead in the bottom of the inning. That sent Pecko out of the game, who gave up five runs on five hits in 4.1 innings.
It felt like that could've been the final big punch, but Jeremy Pea had other ideas. With two outs in the sixth, the star shortstop blasted a clutch two-run homer that tied the game again, this time at 5.
Steven Okert, who's been one of the most reliable bullpen arms, gave up an RBI double to Garcia Jr., who went 4-for-5 in the game. That gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning. There's only so many times you can come back right? Well, the Astros had one more in them. This time, it was to take the lead for good.
Out of nowhere, Diaz hit his second homer of the night that went just 356 feet to right field. Suddenly, the game was tied at 6. It was his 10th homer of the year. The Astros were down to two outs, but Pea got on base with a single. That brought MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez to the plate.
Alvarez already had two hits in the game, but his third remarkably gave the Astros the lead as Pea came around to score. The big man hit a rare triple, his first since July 21, 2024. Just the seventh of his career. The ball was crushed at 106.5 mph.
With Alvarez at third, Isaac Paredes added on another run with an RBI single. The Astros were now up 8-6, something that would prove to be very crucial the next inning. Reliever Bryan Abreu struggled in the eighth and gave up a run without recording an out. He eventually got a double play and closer Josh Hader had to enter for a four out save.
In typical Hader fashion this year, he got it done in just 10 pitches. Cam Smith's rocket triple with two outs in the top of the ninth at 113 mph gave Hader an insurance run. It was Diaz who came through again and continued his special night with an RBI single that drove Smith in. Diaz ended up 3/4 with three RBI, a home run, and a walk.
The Astros scored three runs with two outs in the last two innings. Clutch hitting. Houston is now 8-57 when trailing after seven innings. Bennett Sousa's 1.2 perfect innings after Pecko stabilized the game.
Houston got after reliever Brett Headrick who has a sub-two ERA, with three earned runs on four hits. The Astros need life for the final month of the season, and this kind of win could really help.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Astros Win Epic Thriller Over Yankees With Much-Needed Offensive Explosion .
