About Last Night: Astros 2, Yankees 1

by Derek McAdam

July 1, 2022

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The Yankees lost a tough one last night in Houston, losing a pitching duel by a 2-1 score. The Yankees' record stands at 56-21 on the season and are set to begin a three-series road trip in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Boston.

Quick Stats: Anthony Rizzo accounted for the only Yankee run last night with a solo home run, while Luis Severino gave the Yankees six innings of two-run baseball, taking the loss. The Yankees continued to struggle against the Astros starters, even though there were several opportunities for the team to score.

Coming into last night’s game, Severino had given up 11 home runs on the season. However, the only two runs that Houston scored came on a two-run double from Alex Bregman. While the offense did not provide many positives, the pitching continued to impress.

Big Story: Although these two teams were only playing a one-game series (if you even want to call it that), this matchup was highly anticipated due to last weekend’s exciting four-game series in New York.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Bregman hit a two-run double with the bases loaded to give the Astros a 2-0 lead. This turned out to be the only two runs the Astros would score.

In the top of the 6th, Rizzo hit his 21st home run of the season to cut the Astros’ lead in half, but the Yankees were not able to score another run.

Player of the Game: There are not many players to receive this honor, but Giancarlo Stanton was the only Yankee to have a multi-hit game. Not only was this helpful for Stanton due to his recent struggles, but these were his first hits since June 12 that were not home runs. It was not much, but he needed a game like this.

Notable Performances: The Yankees’ pitching did a nice job against Houston’s strong team, although they did not have their best lineup on the field. The bullpen threw two hitless innings and kept the game as close as possible.

Better to Forget: Joey Gallo continues to struggle. He has not recorded a hit since June 17 and goes into July with a .165 batting average.

My Take: It was a tough loss for the Yankees, but they can’t win them all. One thing that the Yankees must very much consider is Gallo’s future. The Yankees have given him three months of playing the majority of games, and there is no excuse for the .165 average. The Yankees understand that he is a player that strikes out at least 40% of the time, but Gallo has not even been incredible in the field. Even if he had a .190 average and was hitting a few more home runs, the Yankees would be okay with that. After all, the offense has enough firepower to where Gallo is not going to make a large difference anyway. Regardless of how well the Yankees are playing, they cannot continue to give a player chances over and over again with the hopes that he hits a home run. It’s time to give up on the experiment and move on.

What’s Next: The Yankees begin a three game series against the Guardians in Cleveland tonight, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Gerrit Cole is set to start for the Yankees while Aaron Civil is scheduled to start for the Guardians.