Houston, the Yankees might be a problem
The Boston Red Sox have started the season on a positive note after splitting a series against the Mariners and besting the A’s in their three-game series (Courtesy of Winslow Townson/Getty Images).
The New York Yankees entered the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season with a lot of question marks. After missing the playoffs last season with a mediocre record of 82-80, fans were hoping for the Yankees to fully embrace their past role of being the villains of the MLB. This was expected to be done through spending lucrative amounts of money on many free-agent star players. In one of the biggest moves of the offseason, the Yankees acquired superstar outfielder Juan Soto, a move that was revered by fans and analysts alike. Some wondered whether Soto could live up to the lofty expectations of being a Yankee, or if he would falter under the bright lights of New York City.
Any doubters were surely silenced after Soto and the Yankees started off the season with a sweep of their rival Houston Astros on the road. The Yanks didn’t get off to the best start in the opening game of the series on Thursday, Mar. 28, though. Starting pitcher Nestor Cortes gave up three runs in the first inning as doubts started to settle in for the Yankees fan base, which is all too familiar with being disappointed by the Yankees’ performance against the Astros.
Fortunately for fans, the Yankees slowly chipped away after an early 4-0 deficit with Soto starting off the comeback with a run-batted-in (RBI) single. The Bombers went on to load the bases and score two more runs in similarly unconventional ways before tying the game after utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera hammered in the sixth. Later in the seventh inning, new left fielder Alex Verdugo drove in captain Aaron Judge on a sacrifice fly. The Yankees eventually won the first game of the series 5-4 after Soto threw out Astros’ utility player Marcio Dubon at home plate to save the game for the Yankees.
The Yankees faced similar adversity early in the second game of the series, as well. Starter Carlos Rodón surrendered an early RBI single to Astros’ third baseman, Alex Bregman, before a pitching duel ensued between Rodón and Astros’ pitcher, Cristian Javier. Javier exited the game after six strong innings, allowing the Yankees to come alive. Cabrera started it off with a game-tying RBI single before Yankees’ catcher Austin Wells scored after Soto walked. The Bronx Bombers broke it open in the eighth inning with four more runs as Cabrera capped it off with a two-run single. Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton topped off a tremendous effort with a mammoth home run in the ninth to cement a 7-1 win.
In an almost déjà vu moment, the Yankees again found themselves in an early deficit in game three. In the seventh inning, Cabrera continued his heroic performance in the series with a two-run bomb to right field, tying the game at three runs apiece. In the same inning, it was again Soto’s time to play hero as he launched a solo homer to give the Bombers a 4-3 lead. Shortstop Anthony Volpe added a homer in the eighth before closer Clay Holmes locked down a 5-3 win in the ninth.
In the final game of the series, the Yankees took an early 1-0 lead after catcher Jose Trevino hit an RBI single. Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long as the Yankees’ longtime nemesis, Jose Altuve, blasted a solo homer in the third. The Yankees responded quickly, though, with one run coming across to score in both the third and fourth innings. The Astros retaliated in the sixth after Astros’ catcher Yainer Diaz hit a game-tying RBI single. Juan Soto and the Yankees ended up getting the last laugh thanks to Soto lacing a go-ahead RBI single to left field off of Astros’ closer Josh Hader in the ninth inning. Verdugo then closed out the game with a tremendous sliding catch, and Clay Holmes collected his third save of the four-game series sweep.
The Yankees swept their opening series for the first time since the 2003 season and have now found themselves with seven straight wins against their rival Houston Astros. The Yankees will hope to continue their hot start and prepare themselves for their first home series, which begins on Friday, Apr. 5, against the Toronto Blue Jays.