Justin Verlander pitched seven effective innings Friday night and the Houston Astros recorded a 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees, whose 15-game home winning streak ended.
Verlander (9-3) allowed Giancarlo Stanton’s solo homer in the sixth inning among four hits. He rebounded from his shortest start of the season, when he lasted 3 2/3 innings in a loss to the Chicago White Sox on June 18.
In his first appearance against the Yankees since taking a loss in Game 5 of the 2019 American League Championship Series, Verlander struck out three and issued one walk.
Verlander also became the 64th pitcher to reach 235 career victories.
Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer for Houston, which blew leads of 3-0 and 6-3 while dropping the season opener on Thursday.
The Yankees took their first home loss since a 6-4 setback to the Baltimore Orioles on May 23. They produced their longest home winning streak since 1961 but fell three shy of the team record set at the original Yankee Stadium in 1942.
New York’s Luis Severino (4-2) held the Astros hitless into the fourth inning and allowed three runs on five hits in six innings. Severino struck out seven, walked two and threw 95 pitches.
Severino retired the first 10 hitters before Michael Brantley walked and two batters later Yordan Alvarez singled, putting runners at first and third before Tucker flied out.
Severino also stranded runners at first and third when he fanned three consecutive batters to end the fifth.
In the sixth, Houston’s Alex Bregman doubled with one out and Alvarez walked. Tucker then gave the Astros a 3-0 lead when he lifted a first-pitch fastball into the right field seats for his 14th homer.
In the bottom of the sixth, Stanton ended Verlander’s shutout bid when he lifted a 2-2 fastball into the second deck in right field for his 16th homer.
Astros reliever Phil Maton fanned Stanton and Josh Donaldson to strand two baserunners in the eighth. Rafael Montero survived two walks in the ninth, retiring DJ LeMahieu on a grounder to end it for his fifth save.
–Field Level Media
