.LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays - a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Judge was in the dugout during the first interlude and thumped his hand to the fan chants of ''Let's go, Yankees!'' From across the diamond, he tipped his cap toward Bregman, two young stars acknowledging each other.Encarnacion homered for the second time since being traded from Seattle to New York last weekend, and Giancarlo Stanton got three hits as New York opened a 10-3 lead.Cameron Maybin added a two-run double, scored twice and made a sliding catch for the Yankees, doing damage against the team he helped win the 2017 World Series. Yet he could be the player sent down when Judge is activated, even after batting .308 and playing well in the outfield - he almost made a circus catch at the wall in left to end the game, only to have Alvarez's fly elude him for an RBI double.Aroldis Chapman got the final out with two on for his 20th save in 22 chances.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck out three in two scoreless innings - Green has filled that role in his last three outings, fanning 12 in six scoreless innings.Alvarez lined his fifth home run in nine games since making his big league debut. Bregman hit his 21st.Astros sparkplug Jose Altuve singled for his first hit in eight at-bats since a five-week stay on the injured list because of a strained hamstring.TRAINER'S ROOMAstros: OF George Springer (strained left hamstring) hit two home runs for Double-A Corpus Christi in his first rehab game. If all goes well, he could rejoin Houston next week. ... RHP Collin McHugh (elbow) is expected to pitch twice this week in Double-A.Yankees: LHP Jordan Montgomery has inflammation in his left shoulder and won't pitch for two weeks. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but recently had to stop a bullpen session and it's uncertain if he'll pitch this season.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Brad Peacock (6-4, 3.67 ERA) has yielded four home runs in 11 1/3 innings over his last two starts.Yankees: LHP James Paxton (4-3, 3.93) gave up two homers to Altuve and was hit hard in a loss at Houston on April 10 as the Yankees were swept in a three-game set.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Division leaders meet as Astros visit YankeesFLMThe New York Yankees enjoyed a milestone win for CC Sabathia and a sweep over their closest pursuer in the American League East on Wednesday.Now the focus is on a four-game series against the AL West-leading Houston Astros, who are coming off a rare rough patch but swept the Yankees in April.The Yankees put their five-game winning streak on the line Thursday night when they host the Astros in the opener of a four-game series."It's huge, especially (facing) Houston this weekend," Yankees first baseman Luke Voit told reporters following Wednesday's 12-1 win to complete the sweep of Tampa Bay. "That's one of the powerhouses in the American League. I'm excited to face those guys again after getting swept by them in Houston earlier in the year." Following their 32-10 stretch from April 16-June 1, the Yankees lost eight of their next 11 games. After their first rough patch since the opening weeks of the season, the Yankees have scored 39 runs in their past five games, and they head into the weekend after extending their homer streak to 22 games on Wednesday in beating the second-place Tampa Bay Rays."We hit a rough patch there for 10 days or so," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "To come out of that playing well, I feel like we've played really well.Sabathia pitched six innings for his 250th win, Gary Sanchez hit his 21st homer and Gleyber Torres bashed his first career grand slam. Those homers put the Yankees within three of the team record set from June 1-29, 1941.Houston, meanwhile, has scored just seven runs during a four-game losing streak. The Astros lost three one-run games when they were swept in a trip to Cincinnati, sustaining their first road sweep since September 2017. Roberto Osuna allowed two runs in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Reds on Wednesday afternoon.The Astros were held to 20 hits in the three-game series, and Michael Brantley produced seven of them. Brantley collected his major-league-leading 31st multi-hit game on Wednesday. Houston also welcomed back Jose Altuve on Wednesday, and he was 0-for-4 after missing 35 games with a hamstring injury."If you do enough things wrong or don't do enough, you're going to lose at this level, and we did a lot of both," Astros manager AJ Hinch said after the defeat. "Today's game was very winnable. I've said that a couple of times in a row now, so very disappointing, yeah." The Astros are on their longest losing streak since dropping five straight from Aug. 9-14, 2018.On Thursday, Framber Valdez (3-2, 2.77 ERA) will make his third start of the season for Houston. He owns a 2.08 ERA covering 13 innings as a starting pitcher. The left-hander last pitched on Saturday in a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays when he allowed two runs four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out eight.The Yankees are expected to use Chad Green (1-2, 7.54 ERA) as the opener for the sixth time. Green, who owns a 3.52 ERA in the opener role, last pitched on Saturday in an 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out six in two scoreless innings before Nestor Cortes Jr. pitched the next five innings.Green is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in five career appearances against the Astros, all in relief. Valdez will be opposing the Yankees for the first time.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Houston Astros
New York Yankees
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (6/20/2019)
MrSoccer
