HOUSTON — The Yankees are developing an early formula for success: fall behind early, go to the Astros’ bullpen, then let Oswaldo Cabrera and Juan Soto work their magic.
The two-man wrecking crew of Cabrera and Soto — only half of whom were expected to have that kind of daily impact — did it again Saturday night, helping the Yankees earn a third straight victory to open the season.
Cabrera delivered his second game-tying home run in three days, this one on a two-run shot against Astros reliever Bryan Abreu in the seventh inning, before Soto took Abreu deep to the opposite field for a go-ahead run, lifting the Yankees to a 5-3 victory at Minute Maid Park.
Anthony Volpe added his first homer of the year in the eighth inning off reliever Ryan Pressly to extend the Yankees’ lead and help secure the series victory heading into Sunday’s finale.
Of the 17 runs scored by the Yankees in the first three games of this series, 13 were against the Astros bullpen.
The late offensive explosion allowed Marcus Stroman to get by after a strong Yankees debut in which his defense (including his own) let him down.
The Yankees committed three errors, including Stroman’s, which led to all three runs scored against the right-hander in six innings going unearned.
Still, Stroman finished with a bang, with his 101st and final pitch of the night striking out Jeremy Peña to strand Alex Bregman at third base and keeping the Yankees within reach with a 3-1 deficit.
The seventh inning rally once again began with a patient at-bat, this one from Austin Wells.
The rookie catcher fell behind Abreu 0-2 before taking four straight balls to draw a walk.
Cabrera came next and, on a 1-2 pitch, drilled a 97 mph inside fastball into the right field seats, just out of reach of Kyle Tucker at the wall.
Three batters later, Soto launched a line drive into the Crawford Boxes in left field for his first home run as a Yankee and a 4-3 lead.
Then the Yankees bullpen – two innings from Ian Hamilton and one from Clay Holmes – slammed the door, continuing its strong start to the season with 11 2/3 shutout innings.
New York Post
