HOUSTON — Perhaps the message didn’t reach the Yankees’ plane as it cruised the early morning skies on the way from Chicago to Texas in the wee hours Friday.
Maybe it got lost in the mountain of horror the Yankees experienced watching Dustin Fowler’s first big league game turn his right knee into spaghetti, requiring immediate surgery Thursday evening.
Whatever the reason, the Yankees never got word they were heavy underdogs to the Astros on Friday night at Minute Maid Field following a week of key injuries and playing after arriving at the team hotel with the sun up.
“This is a big win for us, to win series you have to give yourself a chance and win the first [game],’’ manager Joe Girardi said of the 13-4 beating the Yankees laid on Lance McCullers and the best team in the American League in front of 40,024. “The things we have been through the last two weeks and what we watched [Thursday night] and they responded.’’
It was only the 43-35 Yankees’ fifth win in 17 games and they didn’t gain ground on the AL East-leading Red Sox, who hold a one-game lead over their blood rivals. Still, the Yankees have won three of five and chased McCullers, one of the premier pitchers in the AL, in the sixth inning
“We came out with a lot of energy and made McCullers work,’’ Girardi said of the right-hander, who allowed three runs and six hits in 5 ¹/₃ innings. “He always has good stuff.’’
Working with a 3-1 cushion in the sixth, McCullers gave up an infield single to Didi Gregorius and a walked Austin Romine with one out. Astros manager AJ Hinch pulled McCullers, who had thrown 97 pitches, and watched the Yankees feast on Michael Feliz.
Ronald Torreyes (3-for-3, two walks, two runs), Chris Carter, Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury added RBI singles and another run scored when Aaron Judge (0-for-4) walked, but the ball eluded catcher Brian McCann.
Michael Pineda went six innings for the win, allowing three runs (two earned), seven hits and didn’t issue a walk. He is 8-4 and leads the staff in wins. Bryan Mitchell recorded the last nine outs and posted a save.
“One-hundred percent my fastball command was better,’’ said Pineda, who won for the first time since beating the Red Sox on June 8. “I had really good command of the fastball.’’
Gardner’s 15th homer of the season was a grand slam in the seventh and put the game away. Two runs against outfielder-turned-pitcher Norichika Aoki in the ninth finished the scoring.
“At 3-2 [James Hoyt] threw me a slider and I fouled it off. He threw me another one and left it up and I took a good swing at it,’’ said Gardner, who tied a career high with six RBIs. “He threw a good pitch to hit and I didn’t miss it.’’
No matter how gruesome Fowler’s injury was, and good friend Tyler Wade can’t bring himself to look at the video, it eventually will fade into the day-to-day grind of a baseball season. And the tombstone eyes the Yankees walked into Minute Maid Field with Thursday courtesy of arriving at the hotel at six in the morning will vanish.
Then it will be up to the Yankees to play a lot more like they did Friday night against a quality opponent than they had been even if the injuries to Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro and Matt Holliday factored heavily into the recent swoon.