The New York Yankees built a 4-1 lead after five and a half innings but couldn’t withstand the Houston Astros’ relentless offense, falling 8-7 in devastating fashion.
Yankees fans had every reason to believe this game was in the bag, yet familiar nightmares resurfaced in the late innings.
A three-run blast by Cody Bellinger in the ninth gave a jolt of hope, but it was too little, too late.
When Jazz Chisholm Jr. was rung up on a controversial strike three to end the rally, Yankee Stadium hearts collectively sank.
That final call will sting for days, but the larger truth remains: the bullpen and defense once again collapsed.
The series now sits even at one game apiece, with Boston also losing, keeping the Yankees tied atop the Wild Card standings.
Toronto, meanwhile, only widened its cushion in the division race, extending the gap to three and a half games after a comeback win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Early sparks silenced by bullpen breakdown
The Yankees actually jumped ahead with early fireworks, getting the crowd buzzing after Giancarlo Stanton launched a solo homer in the second.
Austin Wells added to the excitement with a two-run blast in the fourth, pushing the lead to 3-0 against a stunned Houston crowd.
Ramon Urias gave the Astros life with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, trimming the lead and setting the tone for a comeback.
After the Yankees added a fourth run in the top of the sixth, Jeremy Peña’s homer in the bottom half of the inning immediately chased starter Will Warren from the game, reminding everyone how quickly momentum can vanish in Houston.
Fernando Cruz followed and only made matters shakier, giving up a run on a Jose Altuve groundout after coughing up a single, a double, and a wild pitch.
Luke Weaver couldn’t stem the tide either, surrendering a game-tying single to Yordan Alvarez in the seventh.
The eighth inning felt like a slow-motion train wreck, with New York’s relievers losing control of the game piece by piece.
Devin Williams allowed a leadoff double to Carlos Correa, then issued two walks while striking out two, loading the bases with tension mounting.
He walked Taylor Trammell to force home the go-ahead run, giving Houston a 5-4 edge that sucked the life out of the Bombers.
Camilo Doval entered hoping to stabilize things, but instead he poured gasoline on the fire with one mistake after another.
A run-scoring single extended Houston’s lead, then a balk gifted them another, before a wild pitch ballooned the score to 8-4.
For a team fighting for its postseason survival, watching relievers unravel in that fashion is like death by a thousand cuts.
Aaron Judge, Ryan McMahon, and Cody Bellinger did their best to come close in the ninth, but then Chisholm struck out looking at what looked like a ball, ending the Yankees’ threat and the game.
It wasn’t the umpire’s only miscue of the game. Williams and Boone both got tossed for arguing balls and strikes.
Stanton’s defense under the spotlight
Giancarlo Stanton’s bat produced the Yankees’ first run, but his glove painted a very different picture later in the night.
He misplayed a ball off Alvarez’s bat in the sixth that turned into a double and eventually contributed to the Astros’ surge.
One inning later, his tentativeness showed again when he fielded a base hit, taking considerable and valuable time on the throw home that allowed the tying run.
Alvarez, reading the play perfectly, advanced to second on Stanton’s inaccurate throw home, putting even more pressure on the unraveling bullpen.
It’s harsh, but Stanton is no longer the kind of outfielder who can react quickly and shut down rallies with his arm.
Aaron Boone likely gambled by leaving Stanton in left field, hoping his bat would deliver another big swing in the late innings.
Instead, he produced only a harmless pop-up in the eighth, further magnifying the cost of keeping him in defensively.
Yankees need more from Judge and Volpe
The Yankees needed Aaron Judge to provide a defining moment, but the two-time MVP was eerily quiet until the final inning.
His lone hit came with two outs in the ninth when the deficit was already four, far too late to matter.
Anthony Volpe was even worse, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts before finally being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
It was the kind of offensive night that underlines the gulf between the Yankees and the consistently clutch Astros lineup.
Yes, Bellinger nearly rescued the night with his three-run homer, but Judge and Volpe’s struggles loomed far larger.
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