Yankees at Astros
The runaway train known as the New York Yankees attempt to push their winning streak to double digits when they visit the Houston Astros on Monday for the opener of their four-game series in a rematch of the 2017 American League Championship Series. New York completed a three-game road sweep with Sunday's 2-1 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels, which was its ninth consecutive victory.
Gary Sanchez's two-run homer in the fourth inning held up as CC Sabathia and two relievers limited the Angels to one run and six hits as the Yankees remained unbeaten since dropping an 8-5 decision to Toronto on April 20. Houston appears to have recovered from a stretch during which it lost three of four as it outscored Oakland 19-4 in a pair of victories. George Springer belted a two-run homer while reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve singled and drove in two runs in Sunday's 8-4 triumph as the Astros improved to 3-3 on their 10-game homestand. Altuve, who has won three batting titles in the last four years, has been held without a hit in only four of 29 games this season.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Sonny Gray (1-1, 7.71 ERA) vs. Astros RH Charlie Morton (3-0, 1.86)
Gray's struggles continued Wednesday as he yielded three runs on six hits and five walks while throwing 104 pitches in 4 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Minnesota. It was the second-longest outing of the season for the 28-year-old native of Tennessee, who surrendered 11 runs over 6 1/3 frames in his previous two outings. Gray, who limited Houston to two runs and one hit over five innings in Game 4 of the ALCS last year, is 4-3 with one complete game and a 3.09 ERA in nine career regular-season starts versus the Astros.
Morton was brilliant in his first four starts of the season but had trouble against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, when he escaped with a no-decision after giving up four runs on five hits and five walks in four innings. The 34-year-old from New Jersey recorded only two strikeouts in that outing after registering 33 over 25 frames in his first four turns. Morton split his two career regular-season starts against New York and did the same in last year's postseason matchup, yielding seven runs over 3 2/3 frames in a Game 3 loss before tossing five scoreless innings en route to victory in Game 7.
WALK-OFFS
1. Sanchez, whose last eight hits have gone for extra bases, has scored at least one run in each of his last eight contests.
2. Houston SS Carlos Correa went 0-for-4 on Sunday, ending his 12-game hitting streak.
3. New York has outscored its opponents 64-18 during its winning streak.