Houston avoids the sweep
Altuve's late homer helps lift Astros over Yankees in finale
May 6, 2021, 8:41 pm
Jose Altuve's big homer in the eighth pushed Houston ahead on Thursday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Jose Altuve's big homer in the eighth pushed Houston ahead on Thursday.
With the Yankees outslugging the Astros through the first two games of the series to set up a potential sweep on Thursday afternoon, Houston needed to end this three-game set and overall road trip with a solid outing to get some momentum back in their favor. Thanks in large part to a big late highlight from Jose Altuve, they would do just that to get a win as they head back home.
Final Score: Astros 7, Yankees 4
Astros' Record: 16-15, third in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Andre Scrubb (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Chad Green (0-3)
Stanton does it again, but then Alvarez does it twice
For the third time this series, Giancarlo Stanton would launch a home run against the Astros to spark excitement. It came in the bottom of the third against Lance McCullers Jr., starting the scoring for both sides and giving New York a 1-0 lead and Stanton a homer in each game the last three days. McCullers Jr. would allow another dinger, a two-run shot by Clint Frazier in the bottom of the fourth, which at the time broke a 1-1 tie to put the Yankees back in front 3-1.
Dead center for No. 2 on the day! 🚀#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/rQz0Y6ADSy
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 6, 2021
Lance would go on to finish a decent day on the mound, with just those three runs allowed, leaving his team in striking distance. His final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 105 P. Opposite of him on the mound was his former teammate, Gerrit Cole, who had a rough day dealing with Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez hit not one, but two solo home runs off of Cole, who had a less-dominant day than usual against his former team, finishing seven innings with just four strikeouts and the two runs off of Yordan's homers.
Altuve's go-ahead homer helps Houston avoid the sweep
That left things at 3-2 in favor of New York after seven innings, with Andre Scrubb taking over for McCullers and tossing a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh. Momentum shifted in favor of the Astros in the top of the eighth, with Kyle Tucker leading off with a walk followed by a single by Aledmys Diaz. With one out, Jose Altuve would get the biggest hit of the day, a three-run go-ahead homer to push the Astros to a 5-3 lead.
The birthday boy gives the @Astros the lead. pic.twitter.com/fJyxHSybPU
— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2021
New York would get within a run in the bottom of the inning against Ryan Pressly, who entered for a two-inning save, but Martin Maldonado would add two more runs to the lead on a two-run shot in the top of the ninth. Pressly would complete the save, holding on to the new three-run lead to help Houston avoid the sweep and salvage a game of the series in the Bronx.
Up Next: Houston kicks off a ten-game homestand Friday night, with the first of three against the Blue Jays kicking off at 7:10 PM Central. Jose Urquidy (2-2, 3.71 ERA) will make a start for the Astros, while Ross Stripling (0-1, 6.39 ERA) will be on the mound for Toronto.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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