Morton fans 10 as Astros edge Yanks
Charlie Morton took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and fanned 10 hitters over 7 2/3 dominant innings Monday night as the Houston Astros snapped the New York Yankees' nine-game winning streak with a 2-1 decision.
Morton (4-0) lowered his earned run average to 1.72 by allowing only two hits and a run with two walks. Austin Romine's one-out single in the sixth broke up Morton's no-hit bid, and a two-out double off the bat of Gleyber Torres in the eighth ended Morton's night after 102 pitches.
New York got its only run right after Morton was hooked for Brad Peacock. Pinch hitter Aaron Judge drew a walk, and Brett Gardner greeted reliever Chris Devenski with an RBI single to right-center. However, Devenski rebounded by fanning Didi Gregorius to end the inning.
Ken Giles took care of the ninth for his third save, striking out the side, including Aaron Hicks to end it.
The Astros held the Yankees to zero or one run for the fifth straight game at Minute Maid Park.
This was the teams' first meeting since last year's American League Championship Series, in which Houston rallied from a 3-2 deficit to eliminate the Yankees, blanking them in Game 7 on the way to its first World Series title.
Sonny Gray (1-2) pitched well but took the loss, permitting just four hits and two runs over six innings. He walked three and struck out four.
The Astros touched Gray for a run in the first. George Springer led off with a single and was balked to second. Back-to-back groundouts by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa brought Springer around and forced New York to play from behind all game.
Houston managed its other run in the fourth. Altuve singled, Correa walked and Yuli Gurriel laced a double to left that scored Altuve. However, Gray buckled down and kept the deficit at two, wriggling out of a bases-loaded spot later in the inning.
The Yankees' power-laden lineup whiffed a total of 14 times.
--Field Level Media
