Yankees return to Houston with 3-hit shutout

The Yankees of recent vintage can’t reflect fondly upon their visits to Minute Maid Park, associating that building with great battles that led to season-ending heartbreak. There is no time like the present to flip that script.

Playing their first game in Houston since the 2019 postseason, Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each contributed two-run doubles while Nestor Cortes Jr. pitched scorelessly in another superb spot start, leading the Yankees to a 4-0 victory over the Astros on Friday evening.

• Box score

“You can’t help but think about the past sometimes,” Gardner said. “This is a new season, a new group of guys. Our mission is to find a way to get back in this thing and try to get back in position to make it to the postseason. We’ve got our work cut out for us and a long way to go.”

New York improved to 3-1 this season against Houston, though at 45-42, the Yanks still trail the division-leading Red Sox by nine games.

“For us, it’s really important because of the situation we are in right now,” said shortstop Gleyber Torres. “We are focused on winning the most games possible. It doesn’t matter if we play Houston or not; it’s just win the games and try to advance every series.”

The longest-tenured Yankee -- and one who experienced the pin-drop silence of a defeated visitors clubhouse as the Astros advanced in 2017 and ’19 -- Gardner opened the scoring with a two-out knock in the fourth inning.

That was the Bombers’ only significant blow against Jake Odorizzi, who scattered seven hits over six innings, but Cortes was better, combining with three relievers on a three-hit shutout.

“He was huge for us tonight, just like he’s seemed to be every time he pitches for us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Texas native Lucas Luetge entered as the lineup turned over in the fifth, striking out Jose Altuve to end the frame, then spun a perfect sixth to earn the victory. Chad Green fired two scoreless innings and Jonathan Loaisiga recorded the final three outs.

“We all know what’s at stake,” Gardner said. “We know where we are in the season, with the [All-Star] break coming up and the [July 30] Trade Deadline only a few weeks away. We have our backs against the wall a little bit. It’s imperative to play good baseball.”

Nasty Nestor
Boone said he was hoping for three or four innings from Cortes, who instead provided 14 outs on 74 pitches. The mustachioed 26-year-old kept the Astros off-balance with an assortment of fastballs, sliders and curves, altering his delivery frequently as he lowered his ERA to 1.05.

“I think my stuff has gotten a little better. My command has gotten a lot better too,” Cortes said. “I think that’s what’s working for me most. A lot of people think I’m a crafty lefty, which I am to a certain point, but I think my pitches have gotten a little crisper.”

Players on the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster made a parlor game of growing bushy mustaches earlier this year; some wiped the slate clean soon after arriving in New York, but not Cortes.

“It’s a different look,” Cortes said. “Obviously the Yankees don’t allow facial hair, but they allow mustaches. It’s something that I’m rolling with. Maybe it’s bringing me some luck.”

Boone said he ribbed Cortes about the look when he was promoted, but now the manager sees it as a calling card that “fits him well.”

“No moment is too big for him,” Gardner added. “He’s a guy that’s very even-keeled, works hard and always stays ready.”

Texas-sized showdown
LeMahieu provided insurance with a terrific 10-pitch at-bat facing right-hander Bryan Abreu in the seventh, pounding a curveball to left field that cashed two runs.

Abreu threw two curveballs to start LeMahieu in an 0-2 hole, but the reigning batting champion fouled off four pitches while taking three out of the strike zone, running the count full. Abreu’s 10th pitch was a hanger inside, and LeMahieu lashed it to the scoreboard.

“I had a couple really good at-bats before me,” LeMahieu said. “I was just trying to follow that up and keep the line moving. He threw me some good pitches, and I put a good swing on one.”