YANKEES DEFEAT ASTROS
Verdugo powers Yankees to 10-3 blowout against Verlander and Astros
May 8, 2024, 7:40 am
Yankees hammer Verlander. Composite Getty Image.
Alex Verdugo homered and tied a career high with four RBIs, powering the New York Yankees past Justin Verlander and the skidding Houston Astros 10-3 on Tuesday night.
Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep off Verlander as the Yankees won their fourth straight. They've totaled 20 runs in the last three games after scoring just eight in a five-game span that ended Saturday.
Volpe finished with three RBIs and Juan Soto had three hits.
“Obviously, you’re not going to run out offensive nights like this every night, especially against a guy like Justin,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But they are capable of that. They’ve got balance.”
Verdugo, batting cleanup between Aaron Judge and Stanton, accounted for New York’s first four runs with a three-run homer in the first and an RBI single in the third against Verlander (1-1).
“Sometimes it’s a little bit humbling when you’ve got Judge up there looking down at me and then you’ve got Stanton back right behind me,” a grinning Verdugo said. “I’m like the small guy in the group. But honestly, man, I love it. I really do. I feel like I add enough contact in there that I can either move over some guys (or) get the job done.”
The four-RBI game was the second of the season for Verdugo and fifth of his career. He also made a nice sliding catch in left field of a sinking liner by Jeremy Peña to end the sixth.
“We’re seeing the kind of player he is (on) both sides of the ball,” Boone said. “He’s been excellent. He’s been clutch.”
Verlander lasted five innings and gave up seven runs — the second-most he’s allowed in 37 regular-season and postseason starts versus the Yankees. He yielded eight runs in Detroit’s 13-9 loss on Sept. 1, 2008.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner permitted eight hits and walked three Tuesday night. The 41-year-old Verlander, who missed the first three weeks of the season recovering from right shoulder inflammation, has allowed 27 baserunners (17 hits, 10 walks) over 16 1/3 innings in his last three starts.
“If I’m being brutally honest with myself, the last couple games, probably in particularly, the walks showed me I was a little off,” Verlander said. “And sometimes it takes you facing a team that knows you intimately, and vice versa, to send you back to the drawing board. I think these guys showed me today that I’ve got some work to do.”
Volpe hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Stanton led off the fifth with a 421-foot drive to left field that was clocked at 118.8 mph off the bat. Judge and Jon Berti also had run-scoring singles for the Yankees.
Luis Gil (3-1) allowed just one hit — Kyle Tucker’s first-inning homer — and walked four with five strikeouts over six innings.
“Definitely was a point in the game where I told myself I’ve got to keep this game right here,” Gil said through a translator.
Trey Cabbage had a two-run single in the ninth for the Astros, who matched a season low with three hits. Houston has lost three straight to fall to 12-23 — tied for the fifth-worst record through 35 games in franchise history.
“Pleased about our walks. We walked six times, something that we’ve been trying to get better at — be more selective,” manager Joe Espada said. “We just couldn’t get that much offensively.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: DH Yordan Alvarez crumpled to the ground in pain after fouling a ball off his left leg in the third. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth. ... RHP Cristian Javier (neck), who threw 3 1/3 innings Saturday in a rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi, will return to the Houston rotation this weekend. … RHP Jose Urquidy (right forearm) threw to hitters and is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon.
Yankees: RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow) threw in the bullpen for the second time since he was injured in mid-March. … INF Oswald Peraza (right shoulder) began a rehab assignment by going 2 for 3 with a home run for Class A Tampa. Boone said Peraza, yet to play this season, will need a spring training-like ramp up of minor league games before returning to the Yankees. … RHP Nick Burdi (right hip) struck out all three batters he faced in his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Scranton. … INF DJ LeMahieu (right foot) is feeling better and participating in baseball activities. Boone said LeMahieu will travel with the team for this weekend’s series against Tampa Bay and could get at-bats at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Florida.
UP NEXT
The three-game series continues Wednesday night, when Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (2-2, 3.68 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Spencer Arrighetti (0-3, 8.27).
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Coming off the bye week the Houston Texans received good news as both LB Christian Harris and LG Kenyon Green have been designated to return from injury.
The timing couldn't be better with Harris considering the loss of LB Azeez Al-Shaair, who was suspended for three games for his hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans hasn't announced a return to game action for Harris or Green, the plan is to see how they progress over the course of the week before making any decisions.
When joining the Texans YouTube channel this week, Ryans described Green as a “player that can move people in the run game,” but also acknowledged his issues in pass protection that need to be cleaned up.
While Green was only on the field for three of the whopping 8 sacks on CJ Stroud the last time he started a game, it must be pointed out that he was atrocious that Thursday night against the Jets.
And that was following up a game against the Colts that got him benched for his struggles. If not for Jarrett Patterson suffering a concussion against Indy, Green shouldn't have been on the field versus New York.
That's why Ryans' comments about Green returning are so concerning. “If he's ready to get back out there, I think he can help us,” said the Texans head coach.
To be fair, it's not like the Texans have had much success with Juice Scruggs at guard and Patterson at center. But at least they haven't been a complete disaster in pass protection like they were with Green in the lineup. Green was getting beat quick or missing assignments that led to immediate pressures and big hits on Stroud.
Ground and pound?
There's a narrative out there that Green is the better option when it comes to run blocking. But no matter how you frame it, he was one of the worst, if not the worst, guard in the NFL according to ProFootballFocus before suffering the injury.
Somehow that's supposed to change after returning from a dislocated shoulder? I don't buy it. And considering the Texans' upcoming schedule, they're probably going to struggle with running the ball against the Ravens, Chiefs, and Titans, whether he plays or not.
Those teams are strong against the run, and the Texans would be wise to try to beat them with the passing game, considering the matchup.
Another narrative out there is that GM Nick Caserio wants to give Green every possible opportunity to succeed because he spent a 1st-round pick on Green, and passed up several Pro Bowl players in doing so.
For me, that argument falls a bit flat. Caserio used a 2nd-round pick on Scruggs, so he has a lot invested in both players. However, Scruggs isn't without criticism. He's been an obvious weakness at guard, though he did play much better against the Jaguars last week. It's the Jags, read into that what you will. But Caserio did admit recently that Scruggs is a better center than guard.
Perhaps the plan is to put Scruggs back at center with Green returning. But that could spell trouble as well. The communication issues on the o-line seem to have improved with Patterson at center.
At the end of the day, the number one job for the o-line has to be protecting Stroud, who has been the second-most sacked QB this season (41).
He's taken a sack in every game this year, and has been sacked four or more times in six of thirteen games. Four of those six games featured Green as the starting guard.
Up next
Houston will get their first test after the bye week as they host the 6–7 Dolphins, who still have something to play for. Despite the Texans' up and down season, they can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Miami, and a loss from the Colts.