Yankees takeaways from Sunday's 9-7 loss to Astros, including Carlos Rodon's glaring issue
The Yankees missed an opportunity to take 3 of 4 games against the Houston Astros and gain ground in the race for the third AL Wild Card spot. New York allowed four home runs, including two three-run shots by the Astros' eighth-hitting Jake Meyers, and suffered a 9-7 loss to Houston.
Four things to know from Sunday's game
1. Before Carlos Rodon's third-inning exit due to a hamstring injury, the LHP's start was already problematic. Clearly, Rodon (1-4, 7.33 ERA) has a recurring issue with the long ball. After a 1-2-3 first inning, the second frame saw Rodon work into trouble and ultimately surrendered a two-out homer to Meyers -- the eighth batter's first of two three-run jacks -- that put the Yankees down 3-1. Rodon dug New York into a deeper hole with Yordan Alvarez's two-run homer in the third inning, building the Astros' 5-1 lead.
Rodon struck out Kyle Tucker looking before leaving with the injury, which the Yankees called "left hamstring tightness," as manager Aaron Boone turned to RHP Jhony Brito. In 2.2 innings, Rodon allowed five runs on three hits (two homers) while striking out five and walking two.
Through six starts and 27 innings with the Yankees, Rodon has surrendered eight homers. As a member of the San Francisco Giants in 2022, Rodon gave up 12 long balls over 31 starts and 178 innings.
What comes of Rodon's injury remains to be seen. Healthy or not, he has a glaring issue with keeping the ball in the park -- and his inability to do so hindered the Yankees once again Sunday.
2. While Rodon's home-run struggles served as the headline, he was not the only arm for the Yankees to get roughed up. In fact, after the Yankees clawed back with a four-run fourth inning to tie the game at 5-5, Wandy Peralta gave the lead right back to the Astros.
Following a scoreless fifth inning in which he walked the first two batters but worked out of trouble by retiring the next three Astros, a free pass to Chas McCormick to start the sixth caught up with Peralta (3-2, 3.27 ERA). Moments later, after a Jose Abreu strikeout and Jeremy Pena single, Meyers made Peralta pay with another three-run homer.
The next batter, Martin Maldonado, launched a solo shot as the Astros went back-to-back and commanded a 9-5 lead. Peralta ended the frame with a Jose Altuve flyout and an Alex Bregman strikeout, but the game-altering damage was done.
3. Gleyber Torres, batting third, was an overall bright spot at the plate. Torres' 3-for-4 afternoon included two walks and two RBI, highlighted by his first-inning solo shot off Jose Urquidy -- Torres' 18th home run this season -- to draw first blood and put the Yankees up 1-0.
4. The Yankees left 15 runners on base and were 3-for-12 with them in scoring position. New York scratched a run across with two outs in the eighth inning on Harrison Bader's RBI single that scored Torres, but the bases were ultimately left loaded as Anthony Volpe subsequently flew out to center field.
The Yankees had the tying runs on base and the winning run at the plate with two outs in the ninth inning, but Giancarlo Stanton flew out deep to center field against Bryan Abreu to end the game. Stanton's 0-for-6 afternoon, capped by the warning-track flyout, summed up a day of missed opportunities for the Yankees.
Highlights
What's next
The Yankees (58-54), who face the Astros (64-49) again with a three-game set starting Sept. 1 in Houston, seek their first series win since July 21-23 when they swept the Kansas City Royals.
New York begins a three-game set at the Chicago White Sox with Monday's 8:10 p.m. opener.
Ace RHP Gerrit Cole (10-2, 2.64 ERA) is set to start for the Yankees while the White Sox (45-68) go with RHP Dylan Cease (4-5, 4.61 ERA).
