Yankees defeat Astros, 7-1. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Oswaldo Cabrera had a career-high four hits with three RBIs and Giancarlo Stanton added a solo homer to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 7-1 on Friday night.
Manager Aaron Boone is thrilled to see Cabrera's strong start after he struggled early this spring.
“He’s delivered,” Boone said. “In these first two games he’s been right in the middle of everything. And it’s so good to see him swinging the bat like this and contributing offensively like this because then he becomes so valuable.”
The victory, in which second baseman Gleyber Torres exited after being on the hand with a pitch, came after New York rallied from a four-run deficit for a 5-4 win in Thursday night’s season opener.
Juan Soto had three hits and put the Yankees ahead when he drew a bases-loaded walk in a two-run seventh.
Cristian Javier limited the Yankees to four hits across six scoreless innings before they broke through in the seventh.
Tayler Scott (0-1) walked Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells with one out in the seventh. Cabrera singled on a grounder to left field to score Volpe and tie it at 1-1.
Scott then hit Torres on the right hand with a 93.1 mph fastball, loading the bases. Torres fell to the ground and writhed in a pain for a couple of minutes before being checked by an athletic trainer and remaining in the game.
He took the field to start the bottom of the seventh but was replaced by Jahmai Jones during a mound visit with one out in the inning.
Boone said X-rays were negative and Torres, who said it hit him on the right thumb, added he's a little sore but hopes to play Saturday.
Rafael Montero took over after Torres was plunked and walked Soto, who led the majors in walks in each of the last three seasons.
New York tacked on four more runs in the eighth thanks in large part to Houston’s sloppy defense.
“We are a really good defensive team and, and we we didn’t play good defense there at the end,” Espada said.
New York had runners on first and second with one out when an error by shortstop Jeremy Peña allowed Anthony Rizzo to score and make it 3-1. Wells' sacrifice was fielded by Parker Mushinski, but the pitcher badly overthrew first base for another error that allowed Wells to reach and another run to score.
Cabrera followed with a two-run single that pushed the lead to 6-1. His big game came after he had two hits, including a solo homer in the opener.
“I'm so happy for it,” he said. “We've been working during spring training to have good at-bats and I feel good for these couple of games.”
Stanton connected off Brandon Bielak with one out in the ninth to send many Houston fans streaming for the exits. Most of the remaining fans were wearing New York gear and soon chants of: ‘let’s go Yankees’ filled the ballpark.
Luke Weaver (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings. New York starter Carlos Rodón allowed five hits and a run with three walks in 4 1/3 innings, and Clayton Beeter, a 25-year-old right-hander, made his major league debut for the Yankees with a one-hit ninth.
Jose Altuve hit a leadoff double and scored when Alex Bregman singled with two outs on a ball to center that a diving Alex Verdugo deflected.
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Right-hander Marcus Stroman makes his Yankees debut against Hunter Brown when the series continues Saturday night. Stroman signed a $37 million, two-year contract to join the Yankees this offseason.
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How these 3 critical factors could swing battle between Texans and Jets
Oct 30, 2024, 3:06 pm
The Jets host the Texans and their scary defense on Halloween night! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime
BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 2.
Against the spread: Texans 3-4-1; Jets 2-6.
Series record: Jets lead 7-3.
Last meeting: Jets beat Texans 30-6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 10, 2023.
Last week: Texans beat Colts 23-20; Jets lost to Patriots 25-22.
Texans offense: overall (9t), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (14).
Texans defense: overall (2), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (15t).
Jets offense: overall (24), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (25).
Jets defense: overall (4), rush (17), pass (2), scoring (11t).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-4; Jets minus-3.
Texans player to watch
RB Joe Mixon. He has carried Houston's offense in the three games since he returned from an injury and could be even more important this week after wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore the ACL in his right knee last Sunday and is out for the season. Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 100.6 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD run in three straight games.
Jets player to watch
Edge rusher Haason Reddick. After ending his lengthy contract holdout early last week, Reddick made his Jets debut and played 26 snaps on defense with two quarterback pressures while working mostly on third downs. His snaps might increase a bit Thursday and he could help the Jets get after C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked 22 times this season — tied for third most in the NFL.
Key matchup
Jets offensive line vs. Texans' pass rush. New York has had issues this season with injuries, consistency and protecting Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will face a tough test Thursday night against the Texans, whose 27 sacks are third in the NFL. DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the league with a career-high 7 1/2 sacks, including at least one in his past three games. DE Danielle Hunter has 5 1/2 sacks and DT Tim Settle has four, powering a formidable defensive front for Houston. Hunter leads the league with 51 quarterback pressures and Anderson is fourth with 39, the only teammates in the top 15, according to Next Gen Stats.
Key injuries
Diggs' injury leaves Houston without its top two receivers. Nico Collins, who leads the Texans with 567 yards receiving, is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. ... S Calen Bullock was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday after injuring his shoulder Sunday. … LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) both missed the Colts game, but could return this week. … S Jimmie Ward could miss a fifth straight game with a groin injury. … LG Jarrett Patterson is in the concussion protocol and is likely out. … RB Dameon Pierce missed practice this week with a groin injury. ... Jets LB C.J. Mosley suffered a stinger in his neck during pregame warmups at New England and was meeting with neck and spine specialists this week. ... RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), WR Allen Lazard (chest), DL Leki Fotu (knee) and safeties Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) all missed the game vs. the Patriots and their availability for this week was uncertain. ... K Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR. Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader were signed to the practice squad, and one will be promoted for the game.
Series notes
The Jets have won the past two meetings. ... New York won the first five meetings, including the first game between the franchises in 2003, when LaMont Jordan's late 8-yard touchdown run helped lift the Jets to a 19-14 victory. ... Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the most recent meeting, a 30-6 rout by New York during which Stroud left with a concussion.
Stats and stuff
The AFC South-leading Texans have won four of their past five. ... Stroud is 2-0 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two career starts in prime time. He had 285 yards passing last week for his ninth career game with at least that many yards passing, which is tied for second most in the NFL since 2023. ... WR Tank Dell had a touchdown reception last week and has a TD catch in two of his past three games. ... TE Dalton Schultz had a season-high 52 yards receiving against the Colts. He has two TD receptions in each of his past two Thursday night games. ... Hunter has 10½ sacks in eight career Thursday night games. … LB Neville Hewitt, who spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Jets, forced a fumble last week. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high three passes defended last week. … S Jalen Pitre had his first interception of the season last week. ... S Eric Murray had seven tackles and a season-high three passes defended last week. ... New York is trying to snap a five-game skid. ... Jeff Ulbrich is 0-3 as the Jets’ interim head coach since replacing the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. Ulbrich, also the team's defensive coordinator, said earlier this week he'll continue to call plays on defense. … Rodgers snapped a streak of three consecutive games with an interception. He has seven in eight games, six shy of his single-season career high set in 2008 in his first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. ... Rodgers hasn't passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 30 regular-season games and 31 overall, including one playoff game. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the NFL with 84 targets, 11 more than the Giants’ Malik Nabers. Wilson’s 51 receptions are second in the league behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, who has 52. ... WR Davante Adams had four catches for 54 yards, giving him seven receptions for 84 yards in two games since being acquired from the Raiders. ... Second-year WR Xavier Gipson caught his first career TD pass last Sunday. ... TE Tyler Conklin has a TD catch in consecutive games after not having one since catching two TD passes in Week 8 of the 2022 season against New England. ... RB Breece Hall has 316 yards receiving, the most among NFL running backs. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald has eight sacks, second in the NFL to the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (nine). … The Jets have only six takeaways, ranking among the fewest in the league. Backup CB Brandin Echols has New York's only two interceptions.
Fantasy tip
Houston wide receiver John Metchie is coming off a career-best three-catch game and could see more targets — and perhaps his first NFL touchdown — with both Diggs and Collins out. Might be worth a stash as a potential WR3.
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