Yanks drop 2 in Houston: 'Tough day for us'

HOUSTON -- The Yankees left Minute Maid Park on Thursday not only disappointed after dropping both games of a doubleheader to the Astros, but feeling as if they missed a big opportunity.

Following the All-Star break, a lot of eyes were on the marquee matchup between the Astros and Yankees, who faced off in a doubleheader in Houston as a result of these two games being rescheduled due to the lockout. The teams with the two best records in the American League squared off for the final time in the regular season in what could be an ALCS preview.

Despite winning just two of their five meetings heading into the doubleheader, the Yankees had a chance to win the season series and create separation for the No. 1 seed. Instead, they saw the Astros clinch the tiebreaker over them and climb to just 2 1/2 games back after the Bronx Bombers dropped both games (3-2 in the opener, 7-5 in the nightcap) on Thursday.

“It sucks anytime you lose,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “A tough day for us, and we have to get over it and take care of business.”

It wasn’t only the losses that hurt the Yankees -- facing a club that has given them trouble in recent years, with a 28-33 record against Houston since 2015 (including postseason) -- but also how they lost them.

The first game resembled a prototypical Yankees-Astros matchup, a closely contested battle that either team would feel hurt losing. Despite some early struggles for starter Jordan Montgomery, giving up two runs in the first two innings, the Yankees had some late heroics through an Isiah Kiner-Falefa RBI single that tied the game in the ninth inning.

It seemed to set the table for another Yankees comeback win -- they have a league-leading 28 -- but quickly fell apart when reliever Michael King found himself in trouble in the bottom half of the inning when he loaded the bases with one out.

King struck out the next batter, Chas McCormick, but pinch-hitter J.J. Matijevic hit an infield single to walk it off for the Astros. It was a game filled with missed opportunities for the Yankees, like in the third inning when they loaded the bases with no outs but couldn’t score.

“Just about every game could have gone either way,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said in between games Thursday. “You have two great teams. One makes a mistake, the other one capitalizes.”

In the next game, the Yankees found themselves in a deeper hole early as Domingo Germán, who was making his season debut off the 60-day IL, gave up five runs in three innings. The Bronx Bombers responded with the long ball (their 160 home runs leads the Majors) as Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer in the third inning and Aaron Judge hit a three-run shot in the ninth inning. It was the MLB-best 34th home run for Judge, projected to travel 410 feet by Statcast.

Despite the late comeback bid and bringing the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth, the Yankees could not overcome the early struggles.

“They’re a good ballclub over there,” Judge said. “A great pitching staff and their offense [as well]. You can’t give them extra outs or even make outs on the basepath and help them out.”

The Yankees still own the best record in baseball at 64-30, and they have a strong grip on the AL East with a 12-game lead over Tampa Bay, but this is a team that has aspirations to win its first World Series since 2009.

The season series against Houston shows the Yankees might need to make some moves at the Trade Deadline, punctuated by their .151 batting average against the Astros. Time will tell what moves they make, but the Yankees certainly do not want to meet the same fate in the playoffs against the Astros, who eliminated them in 2015, ’17 and ’19.

Thankfully for the Yankees, this Astros sweep is not in October, and they still might get their chance to “slay the dragon” if the opportunity comes, as Boone says.

“The narrative is not going to change until you beat them in the playoffs,” Boone said. “If we happen to come back here in October, we’re going to show up. We’re going to expect to win. We think we’re really good and they’re really good.”