Andy Singer
- Mar 30
- 6 min read

About Last Night: Yankees 7, Astros 1

By Andy Singer

March 30th, 2024

The Big Story

Wow, what a game. In 2 games, the Yankees came from behind twice to take the lead from the hated Astros and steal a win. Yankee starting pitching again was good enough to keep the Yankees in the game while showing flashes of what could be, the Yankees again got contributions from up and down the lineup, and for once, the Yankees weren't the most sloppy team on the field. The Yankees have a really tough early season schedule, and getting off to a good start was imperative. By winning 2 in Houston, the Yankees need just one more win to win the opening series of the season and will almost certainly leave Houston feeling pretty good. The Yankees even got decent news on the injury front, as it seems that Gleyber Torres avoided serious injury on his HBP. 2024 sure looks different than 2023 for the Yankees so far.

A Deeper Dive

Bend, Don't Break

Carlos Rodon did not have his best stuff out there last night. He got some swings and misses with his fastball and slider, but you could tell that he was searching for it a lot of the night. Most critically, he had real trouble commanding his all of his pitches, with some really well-spotted pitches and some totally non-competitive pitches:

Luckily, Rodon's stuff was good enough that the few pitches he left over the heart of the plate really weren't demolished by the Astros' potent lineup. That's really good, because we saw in 2023 what Rodon looks like when his stuff is really off.

Better yet was Rodon's demeanor in this outing. He had to scratch and claw for every out, and it was so clear that Rodon was determined to keep the Yankees in this game regardless of whether he had good feel or not. Rodon ran high pitch counts and deep counts on numerous at-bats, but he kept digging deep to get outs, even with runners in scoring position. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but this is a game that would have gotten away from Rodon last season. He came up with big pitches both on location and pure stuff to get big strikeouts and weak contact when it counted most. Rodon's defense was good behind him, but I thought Rodon was fantastic at battling to get through 4.1 innings of 1-run ball while working around 5 hits and 3 walks.

I also think we need to highlight something that Rodon did last night that proves some of his Spring Training talking points weren't lip service. Rodon consistently said that he was working on his tertiary offerings a lot during Spring Training so that he would have something to go to when the wheels started to fall off. Well, Rodon used the cutter really well against the Astros to keep hitters off of his fastball and slider, induced weak contact with the pitch, and even got a strikeout in a big spot early with a 93+ MPH cutter. Hitters averaged an Exit Velocity of just 75.8 MPH against Rodon's cutter, and it's a huge reason why we can call last night a good start.

The old saying is that good pitchers find a way to pitch well even when their stuff isn't all there. Rodon sure looked like a good pitcher in that context last night.

Hat Tip To The Other Guy, Too

Cristian Javier is a maddening pitcher, I'd imagine, for Astros fans. His bottom-line numbers are often pedestrian, but at his best, he's as good as anyone in the Majors. Most of the lineup could not touch Javier last night. It wasn't a matter of the Yankee lineup not being good enough, either. Javier mixed fastballs, sliders, and change-ups masterfully to really fool Yankee hitters, particularly in two strike counts.

However, we also need to highlight a couple of Yankees who were dialed in against Javier: Juan Soto and Oswaldo Cabrera. Soto and Cabrera each had two hits against Javier, with Cabrera doubling against Javier in the Top of the 5th inning.

A Little Nibbling, And A Little Luck

The Yankees broke through as soon as Javier left the game in the 7th inning. The Yankees were patient, taking their walks and really waiting for their pitch. Volpe and Wells walked with one out in the 7th, and Oswaldo Cabrera's third hit of the night was a beautiful single through the big hole on the left side of the infield to score Volpe from second. It was exactly the type of short swing that Cabrera was incapable of producing last season, but the swing changes he made this off-season allowed last night.

Torres followed with a scary HBP that loaded the bases, and Soto drew a bases loaded walk to score the second run to give the Yankees the 2-1 lead.

The 8th inning was...interesting. The Yankees used some small ball tactics to move runners, and the Astros showed some seriously sloppy fielding. After Rizzo and Verdugo got on-base on a single and a walk, respectively, Volpe grounded the ball softly to Pena at SS, normally a sure-handed, but his soft toss to 2B both might have been too soft to catch Verdugo and was off the mark, so all the runners were safe, including Rizzo, who scored on the play while Verdugo moved to third. Austin Wells followed with an audacious attempt to bunt for a hit. Wells sprinted down the first baseline, the pitcher threw the ball away, and the Yanks got another run to lead 4-1. Cabrera then played pepper with the infield in, and closed out the 8th with a 2-run RBI single up the middle with another short swing to give the Yanks a 6-1 lead.

The cherry on top was a Giancarlo Stanton moonbeam in the 9th inning, a solo shot that traveled 419 feet, according to Statcast.

Even in the 9th inning, the Astros looked disinterested, after Yordan Alvarez grounded into what seemed like a sure double-play, Volpe made a throwing error. Rizzo retrieved the ball, and noticed that Alvarez had made a small turn from first base, and tagged him out past first base.

The Yankees were the better, more fundamental team last night. When is the last time we said that comparing the Yankees to the Astros?!?

Injury Scares

Gleyber Torres was hit in the thumb with a pitch up=and-in in the 7th inning, but it appears that he escaped real injury. Bryan Hoch reported that x-rays were negative on Torres' thumb. I wouldn't expect him to play the next game.

Juan Soto was checked out by trainers as he ran out to the field in the 3rd inning, but it appeared to be nothing serious. Soto was a key contributor after he was checked out, and was healthy enough to make a couple of excellent plays in RF.

Player Of The Game

That's a tough one, but you have to give it to Soto and Cabrera.

Cabrera was 4-5 with 3 RBIs, and was just excellent all-around. Jon Berti, who?

Soto is the best player on the roster right now. He made two excellent plays in RF at critical moments, and he went 3-4 with an RBI walk at the plate. Man, I'm glad we got that guy.

Notable Performances

Carlos Rodon - 4.1 Innings, 4 Ks, 3 BB, 5 H, 1 ER, 87 Pitches

Yankee Bullpen - 4.2 Innings, 2 Ks, 3 BB, 2 H, 0 ER, 71 Pitches

Wells and Volpe - 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R

Stanton - 1-5, 2 K, 1 HR

Better To Forget

Judge has been awful in the early going, and Game 2 was no different, going 0-5, and again hitting the Yanks out of an inning with the bases loaded. What a bum that guy is...

In all seriousness, it will turn around, but it would be nice to see the Captain get in on the action!

Also, let's hope Torres' injury isn't serious.

My Take

What a first couple of games! Judge has been terrible, but the Yankees continue to win, which would have been unthinkable in 2023. That they're doing it against the Astros only makes it sweeter. This lineup is deeper and better than 2023, and pitching staff pitches with guile and attitude. I love everything I'm seeing so far. Let's keep the good times rolling!