Houston falls to New York

Disaster in the sixth for Astros as Yankees take series opener

Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton celebrates a home run off of Astros' Zack Greinke
Zack Greinke had another disappointing start on Tuesday. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Zack Greinke had another disappointing start on Tuesday

With victories in their last three series, going 8-3 in that eleven-game span, the Astros traveled to The Bronx to take on the Yankees, and a very energized crowd, at Yankee Stadium for a three-game set. After an exciting back-and-forth early, the Yankees would get a big inning to put things out of reach for Houston, handing them a loss in the opener.

Final Score: Yankees 7, Astros 3

Astros' Record: 15-14, third in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Lucas Luetge (2-0)

Losing Pitcher: Brandon Bielak (1-1)

Teams trade blows early as Greinke has another forgettable outing

Having been met by boos both in pre-game and in their first at-bats in the top of the first inning, Alex Bregman quickly did his best to silence them by giving Houston a 1-0 lead with a solo home run. New York promptly responded, pounding Zack Greinke in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff single turned into a two-run home run by Giancarlo Stanton; then the Yankees loaded the bases still with no outs. Greinke would limit the damage to one run, but before it was all said and done would have used 31 pitches.

The 3-1 score held until the top of the fourth when a one-out bomb by Michael Brantley into the upper deck cut the deficit to one run. Later that same inning, Yordan Alvarez singled then scored to tie the game on a ground-rule double by Yuli Gurriel that narrowly missed being a homer. Zack Greinke would finish his third consecutive scoreless inning in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be the end of his night: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 84 P.

Disaster in the sixth

Brandon Bielak would take over for him in the bottom of the fifth, erasing a one-out double to maintain the tie score. He returned in the bottom of the sixth, getting two outs while putting runners on the corners before Dusty Baker would bring in Bryan Abreu.

Disaster would ensue, as a poorly called strike zone resulted in a walk to load the bases, followed by a groundball by DJ LeMaheiu that would be thrown wide by Alex Bregman to Yuli Gurriel, bringing in two runs easily, then a third that resulted in a collision by Rougned Odor into Martin Maldonado, taking both out of the game. Stanton would bring in another on an RBI single to make it 7-3 before Abreu would eventually get the third out.

Yankees take the opener

Andre Scrubb was the next reliever for Houston, working around two walks for a scoreless inning. Joe Smith had the eighth and also put up a zero despite loading the bases on two singles and a walk. Houston came up empty in the top of the ninth, as New York would take the first of this three-game series.

Up Next: The Astros and Yankees will meet for another 6:05 PM Central start on Wednesday. Houston will look to Luis Garcia (0-3, 2.70 ERA) to try and get his first win of the season, while New York will send Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 4.39 ERA) to the mound.

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Is Kyle Tucker at least another month away from returning? Composite Getty Image.

The latest update from Astros GM Dana Brown on the club's flagship station did not ease anyone's concerns this week. Brown said he was optimistic that Kyle Tucker would be back before September. September?

Which made us wonder what type of injury Tucker is really dealing with? A bone bruise doesn't typically take this long to heal.

Be sure to watch the video above as ESPN Houston's Joel Blank and Barry Laminack share their thoughts on Tucker's health, the Astros' secrecy when it comes to injuries, and much more!

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