Yankees 3, Astros 2
HOUSTON -- Left fielder Chris Young belted a three-run homer in the seventh inning and continued his torrid hitting at Minute Maid Park in the New York Yankees' 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Young, a product of nearby Bellaire High School, bashed his ninth home run of the season to left field off Astros right-hander Will Harris (4-1). With one swing, Young erased a two-run deficit before capping a 3-for-4 night with a single in his next at-bat.
In 25 career games in his hometown, Young is batting .410 (43-for-105) with nine home runs, 33 RBIs and 14 multi-hit games.
The late Yankees rally set the table for a stellar performance from the bullpen, keyed by left-hander Chasen Shreve, who struck out the side in the seventh inning, and capped by right-hander Dellin Betances, who recorded four outs for his fifth save this season.
Astros right-hander Vince Velasquez carried a shutout into the seventh inning before surrendering consecutive one-out singles to designated hitter Carlos Beltran and right fielder Garrett Jones. Harris was summoned from the bullpen and immediately gave up the lead.
Houston (43-33) scratched across two runs against Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (7-2), who allowed five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six strong innings.
After consecutive starts in which Velasquez failed to last five innings while totaling 195 pitches, he was in search of efficiency.
Velasquez found it starting in the second inning, retiring the Yankees in order on just eight pitches. That put Velasquez at 24 pitches through two innings and set the stage for him to find and maintain a decent rhythm.
Yankees third baseman Chase Headley battled Velasquez for an eight-pitch at-bat in the third, but that confrontation ended with Headley listing a harmless fly ball to right field that enabled Velasquez to strand center fielder Brett Gardner, who doubled with two outs, at second base.
Velasquez then worked a perfect fourth and pitched around a one-out single by Young in the fifth. When Velasquez closed the inning, he matched his season high for innings, doing so in 17 fewer pitches than his big league debut against the White Sox on June 10.
The Astros, meanwhile, weren't having much success against Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, but they did cobble together a 1-0 lead in the third when catcher Hank Conger doubled with one out and later scored when shortstop Carlos Correa rapped a two-out single to center field.
NOTES: Astros RHP Chad Qualls landed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Thursday with a pinched nerve in his neck. Qualls is 1-4 with a 5.11 ERA and four saves in 29 appearances, including 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA this month. ... The Yankees outrighted LHP Jose De Paula to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. De Paula made his big league debut last week, pitching 3 1/3 innings while allowing one run, two hits and four walks with two strikeouts against Detroit. De Paula was designated for assignment two days ago to clear roster space for RHP Ivan Nova. ... The Astros recalled 1B Jon Singleton from Triple-A Fresno, where he hit .280/.387/.553 with 17 home runs in 70 games. His 66 RBIs are tied for the most in the minors along with high-Class A Lancaster 1B A.J. Reed. Singleton hit .168/.285/.335 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs in 95 games as a rookie last season, striking out 134 times in 362 plate appearances.