After banking some wins against the likes of the White Sox, Cardinals, and Nationals, the Yankees have four consecutive series against teams currently in playoff position. They start that stretch tonight against the club that has visited more misery on them in the Baby Bomber era than any other, the Houston Astros. The ‘Stros enjoy a three-game lead atop the AL West, although they have the exact same number of wins as New York entering play. Must be nice to not have to be in the AL East.
Max Fried
has gotten himself back on track lately, with two straight strong starts allowing a single earned run across 13 innings. Breaking ball usage is back up, which may lead more credence to the belief his blister issue lasted longer than the Yankees said, and also that he may be fully past it now. Fried did face the Astros three weeks ago, getting slapped around in five innings, allowing eight hits and four runs. He’ll need to be better than that to kick this series off in the right way.
Meanwhile, Framber Valdez has sort of become pitching’s José Ramírez, consistently putting up terrific seasons that fall just short of major awards consideration. A 3.18 ERA across 164.1 innings underscores how he’s one of the few remaining “workhorses,” at least as much as 200-inning seasons can be considered major workloads in 2025.
Giancarlo Stanton IS in the shallow left field, despite Aaron Boone last week saying he didn’t have plans to put the slugger in the field at Minute Maid whatever a Daikin is. The Yankees need every win they can get this month, so right handed power stacked up against a southpaw like Valdez is critical.
How to Watch:
Location: Daikin Park — Houston, TX
First Pitch: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES | Space City Home Network | TBS (National)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 | KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3 FM
Online stream: Gotham Sports App
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