Astros at Yankees
Houston Astros right-hander Charlie Morton has been masterful in his last two meetings with the New York Yankees, having tossed five shutout innings in Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series before striking out 10 in another win last month. Morton hopes to flummox the Yankees (33-17) yet again on Tuesday in the Bronx as the Astros (35-20) bid for their 15th victory in 20 outings.
Rookie J.D. Davis belted a three-run homer for Houston and Jose Altuve added a solo shot in Monday afternoon's 5-1 triumph, with the latter going 11-for-19 with two homers, seven RBIs and seven runs scored during his four-game hitting streak. Marwin Gonzalez had a pair of hits for the Astros to match his total of his previous six games, during which he struck out eight times. Greg Bird was elevated to the cleanup position and belted a solo homer on Monday for New York's lone run, although he is expected to drop once again in the lineup with Giancarlo Stanton slated to return after a day off. Stanton sat out the opener on the heels of striking out in all four at-bats in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), WPIX (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Charlie Morton (7-0, 2.04 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (2-1, 3.55)
Morton allowed just one run on two hits over 7 2/3 innings of a 2-1 victory over the Yankees on April 30. The outing began a stretch in which the 34-year-old has posted a 4-0 mark in five starts after permitting eight runs on 18 hits with 40 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. Gleyber Torres had a double off Morton last month, but the New Jersey native walked away with the win to improve to 2-1 with a 0.93 WHIP in three career outings against the Yankees.
Sabathia was fortunate to escape with a no-decision on Wednesday after being tattooed for seven runs on six hits with three walks across 4 1/3 innings against Texas. The 37-year-old was taken deep by Nomar Mazara and Ronald Guzman as part of a five-run fourth inning, marking the fourth time he's allowed a homer in three games after keeping the ball in the park in each of his four previous outings and five of six to start the season. Altuve (2-for-6) has fared well in a small sample size versus Sabathia, however the former Cy Young winner has flustered Brian McCann (2-for-10, five strikeouts).
WALK-OFFS
1. New York has dropped four of six after winning 22 of its previous 26.
2. Astros 1B Yuli Gurriel has seven hits in five games against the Yankees this season.
3. New York RF Aaron Judge is 2-for-17 with four strikeouts versus Houston in 2018.