Altuve homer caps 6-run rally as Astros shock Yankees
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, getting his jersey yanked off in a frenzied celebration and lifting the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees 8-7 Sunday.
The Astros had been shut out by the Yankees the previous two games, highlighted by ace Gerrit Cole's three-hitter in a 4-0 win on Saturday night.
But in a series where the teams took turns trolling each other after lingering ill will over the years, Altuve and the Astros had the final say.
The win came on Altuve replica jersey giveaway at Minute Maid Park — Houston fans left with a No. 27 shirt, while the AllStar second baseman exited without his.
New York led 7-2 after a three-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the eighth inning and was poised for a sweep before the Astros broke loose and handed the Yankees another aching last-inning loss.
After the first two Astros reached base against Domingo Germán in the ninth, Chas McCormick hit a two-run double off Chad Green (3-5). Abraham Toro followed with an RBI double to make it 7-5, still with no outs.
Pinch-hitter Jason Castro singled and one out later, Altuve launched his soaring shot to left field. His temmates greeted him at the plate and ripped off his jersey in the celebration, leaving him shirtless as he hugged manager Dusty Baker on his way off the field.
Altuve was not available for a postgame interview. The Astros said his father was in the hospital and he rushed to be with him.
Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. He allowed three walks on a day the Astros won despite walking a whopping 14 batters.
Martin Maldonado homered in the Houston third off Jameson Taillon, making it 1-all and giving Houston its first run in the series.
Maldonado pulled his jersey down on the left side, revealing his bare chest as he rounded third base.
The move came a day after Yankees slugger Aaron Judge pulled his jersey together with both hands as he rounded third on a home run. It was a gesture that some interpreted as a reference to Altuve gripping his jersey to keep teammates from ripping it off during the celebration after his game-ending homer in Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series against the Yankees.
After Houston's sign-stealing scandal was uncovered, some speculated that Altuve didn't want his jersey pulled off because he was concealing a buzzer that helped in the plot. The allegation was never proven, and Altuve said he did it because he was shy and that he got in trouble with his wife when his jersey was ripped off before.
Altuve was not made available to discuss Judge's display, but manager Dusty Baker weighed in on it Sunday.
“I noticed what he did,” Baker said. “That was wrong.”
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 4
MIAMI (AP) — Marlins right-hander Pablo López set a major league record by striking out the first nine batters to start a game, pitching Miami past the Atlanta Braves 7-4 Sunday.
A day after the Braves lost star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury, their hitters had no answers for López's early dominance.
López set the mark on the one-year anniversary of his father's death.
PHILLIES 5, RED SOX 4
BOSTON (AP) — Ronald Torreyes hit a three-run homer, Philadelphia used six pitchers after losing its scheduled starter to COVID-19 contact tracing, and the Phillies hung on to beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Sunday.
The Phillies took the last two of the three-game series at Boston and enter the All-Star break at 44-44 — Philadelphia's first time at .500 since being 34-34 in late June.
“This is a resilient group. We've probably had as many tough losses as any team in baseball and we have found a way,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Two weeks ago we were kind of in a nightmarish week. The last 10 days, we've played extremely well. We've beat some good teams, taken some series from good teams. We've had a winning road trip — extremely proud.”
Torreyes had three of Philadelphia's six hits and J.T. Realmuto had an RBI single in the third.
Philadelphia had to scratch starter Aaron Nola and place the righthander and three teammates on COVID-19related injured reserve on Sunday. Brandon Kintzler started the group effort with one-plus inning, Cristopher Sánchez (1-0) got the win after taking over in the second, and Ranger Suárez finished it, striking out two in the ninth to earn his second save after 2 1-3 scoreless innings.
“We felt like if we could get Kintzler and Sánchez through at least three we'd be OK,” Girardi said. “I give Sánchez a ton of credit because he threw a light side yesterday. I don't think he was supposed to pitch until Monday. To get as many outs as he did was huge for us.”