HOUSTON — They have played just two games in the young season, but the Yankees have wasted no time packing in the drama.
For the second time in as many days, the Yankees staged a comeback victory against the Astros, this time waiting six innings to score before clinging to a lead and then running away with it in a 7-1 win on Friday night at Minute Maid Park.
On the way there, Carlos Rodon walked a tightrope in his season debut, two-way star Juan Soto survived an injury scare, Gleyber Torres did not, Oswaldo Cabrera piled up four hits and three RBIs and in the eighth inning, a nail-biter turned into a laugher.
Cabrera and Soto led the way in the late-game heroics, getting the Yankees off to a 2-0 start to the season and guaranteeing at least a split of the four-game series.
“You see all the teammates doing big things and just trying to show that we never give up,” said Cabrera, who went 2-for-4 with a game-tying home run on Opening Day.
The Yankees were held scoreless through six innings by Astros right-hander Cristian Javier before they pounced with more tough at-bats in the seventh, eighth and ninth against Houston’s bullpen.
By the end of the night, chants of “Let’s go Yankees” rang out in enemy territory.
“We’ve been trying to do that since spring training,” Soto, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, said of the at-bat quality across the board. “We’ve been focused on taking good at-bats against everybody. Don’t give at-bats away, try to go deep [in the at-bat] and try to make the best decision at the right time. I think it’s been working so far.”
Soto also added his second defensive gem in as many days, making a terrific sliding catch in right-center field to help get out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, just after the Yankees had taken a 2-1 lead.
“That guy’s pretty incredible,” Rodon said after allowing one run across 4 ¹/₃ gutsy innings. “You’d think we signed him for his defense at this point. Obviously some big hits and some big walks and then some great defensive plays. That guy’s been spectacular.”
Soto showed no ill effects from turning an ankle while rounding the bases in the third inning, which he said hurt in the moment but got better as the night went on.
“I’m playing [Saturday],” Soto said.
After Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells drew one-out walks in the seventh, Cabrera delivered a single the other way to tie the game.
Then, after Torres was hit on the right thumb by a 93 mph fastball (which forced him out of the game in the bottom of the inning), Soto drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-1.
In the eighth, the Astros gifted the Yankees a pair of throwing errors, opening the floodgates for a four-run inning.
Cabrera finished it off with a two-run single back up the middle, highlighting another strong night for the Yankees No. 9 hitter.
“It’s been awesome,” manager Aaron Boone said. “What can you say? He’s delivered in his first two games. He’s been right in the middle of everything. It’s so good to see him swinging the bat like this and contributing offensively like this because then he becomes so valuable. Happy for him. I know how hard he works.”
For good measure, Giancarlo Stanton joined the party in the ninth inning with a bullet home run to left-center field.
Rodon played with fire but where he might have gotten burned last season, he somehow escaped relatively unscathed in his 2024 debut.
The left-hander gave up just one run (in the first inning) despite allowing five hits and three walks, instead stranding seven men on base with some timely pitching, including four strikeouts.
He had to labor through four jams, as his drenched-with-sweat jersey indicated (he got a new one after three innings), but lived to tell about it.
“I’m never gonna be mad when our team wins.” Rodon said. “I’m happy we came out with a win. I know there’s room for improvement throughout the week leading into the next start. But I’ll walk away today happy that the Yankees won.”
