Leadoff HR a harbinger of Verlander's rough night

HOUSTON -- The second pitch thrown by Astros starter Justin Verlander on Friday night was rocketed for a home run by Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu. It was a sign of things to come.

Verlander allowed a career-high-tying four homers, including mammoth blasts by sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, and the Astros couldn’t recover in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees at Minute Maid Park, snapping Houston’s five-game winning streak.

The Astros squandered a chance to gain ground in the tight American League West race, with both the Rangers and Mariners also losing Friday.

• Games remaining: vs. NYY (2), at TEX (3), vs. SD (3), vs. OAK (3), at KC (3), vs. BAL (3), vs. KC (3), at SEA (3), at ARI (3).

• Standings update: The Astros and Mariners are in a virtual tie for first place in the AL West, with the Rangers one game behind. The Mariners hold the tiebreaker over the Astros, meaning Houston would have to finish one game ahead of Seattle to win the division.

Verlander, who had allowed one homer over 72 plate appearances in his past three starts against the Yankees prior to Friday, yielded two homers in the first: LeMahieu’s, and a two-run shot by prospect Jasson Domínguez in his first Major League at-bat. Stanton hit a Statcast-projected 433-foot homer in the third, and Judge led off the fifth with a 426-foot homer.

“The young guys are swinging from the time they left the dugout,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He just got a couple of balls up, a couple of breaking balls, to the young center fielder and the one to Stanton. Sometimes it’s like that. Sometimes there’s no explanation.”

LeMahieu and Domínguez homered on fastballs, Stanton on a curveball and Judge on a slider.

"I think some of them were mistakes, some of them were good swings on good pitches,” Verlander said. “That’s the nature of it. When you have a good start, they don’t hit the bad pitches. Sometimes when you have a bad one like today, you make some good pitches and they put good swings on them, and you make bad pitches and they do damage on them. It seemed like what it was today.”

The Astros, who managed a leadoff homer in the second by José Abreu and an RBI double in the third by Kyle Tucker, lost second baseman Jose Altuve after one inning. He fouled a ball off his left shin during his leadoff at-bat and was removed from the game after grounding out and is day to day. An offense that had set a club record with 78 hits in its previous five games was held to four.

A highly anticipated international prospect, the 20-year-old Domínguez was 2 years old when Verlander made his Major League debut for the Tigers on July 4, 2005. Domínguez looked at a curveball for a called strike from Verlander before swatting a 94.3 mph fastball down the middle into the Crawford Boxes in left field.

“We know how talented he is,” said Verlander, who was pitching on the four-year anniversary of his third no-hitter, Sept. 1, 2019, at Toronto.

Verlander said he anticipated Domínguez would be aggressive.

“First time facing him, it was cat and mouse, trying to figure him out and he’s trying to figure me out,” he said. “I think the first thing you’ve got to figure out is, ‘Where does he like to hit the ball?’ Apparently, right where I threw it.”

Verlander, who has been pitching on four days of rest since being acquired by the Astros on Aug. 1, is lined up to face former Mets teammate Max Scherzer of the Rangers in the finale of a crucial series on Wednesday in Arlington.

Verlander has shown he’s up for the pressure of a pennant race. In his career, his 2.80 ERA in 80 starts in September -- prior to Friday -- is the lowest of his career for any month. He had a 1.50 ERA in three starts last September, and he was 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in his first five starts in an Astros uniform in September 2017. The Astros won the World Series both years.

“It’s going to be a fun month,” Verlander said. “Hopefully, we can turn the page from this one and get back winning.”