Bomber Bats Turn Tie Game in 7th Into Rout. NY 9 Houston 3

August 27, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Cody Bellinger breaks open the dam with a bases-loaded, nobody out double in the 7th to give NY a 5-3 lead.

It was a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 7th inning when the Yankee bats took over to turn the game into a rout, scoring 4 runs in the inning and adding 2 more in the 8th for a 9-3 win over Houston on a beautiful Wednesday night in the Bronx.

The Yanks started by loading the bases with nobody out in the 7th — and Cody Bellinger doubled in 2 runs for a 5-3 lead. Spencer Jones followed with a 1-out RBI single and Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed that with an RBI double.

Luis Garcia Jr. belted a 2-run HR in the 8th for a 9-3 game. Garcia continues to hit hit hit. He went 3 for 5 after going 4 for 5 yesterday. Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 3 for 3 with a walk.

The Yanks got good pitching from rookie starter Elmer Rodriguez, who pitched into the 7th, allowing 2 runs with a 3rd run charged to him after he left.

And the Yankee bullpen was great as usual, with Paul Blackburn pitching a shutout inning to get the win; Michael Fulmer — pitching for the first time as a Yankee — throwing a 1-2-3 shutout 8th; and Tim Hill pitching a shutout 9th.

“I’ve maintained through all of it — I’ve referenced it by lineup card — there’s a lot of good hitters on there,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “And that hasn’t changed but it has been nice to see them start to gain some traction. Even tonight — we couldn’t throw that knockout pitch early — but again a lot of good at bats throughout the first part of the game — and you’re like man we can’t get over the hump there and then the damn breaks late with some really good at bats. Great job by all the lefties, left-on-left there, of running that big inning together.”

NY improves to 75-57 and stay 3.5 games behind Tampa but move back to 2.5 games over Boston. Houston falls to 66-67, but remain in 1st in the AL West by .5 game over Texas.

1. Rice HR & Garcia Single = 2-0 NY lead in 1st

Houston started 29-year-old, 6’2 righty Peter Lambert who came in with an 8-7 3.66 record. NY jumped on him in the bottom of the 1st — Ben Rice with a 364-foot HR to right for a 1-1 tie.

Next batter Luis Garcia Jr. singled to right, and went to 3rd when Cody Bellinger hit a grounder that Houston’s 1st baseman Christian Walker threw away in trying to start a double play to 2nd.

George Lombard Jr. grounded out to 1st and Garcia scored to give NY a 2-1 lead at the time.

2. Yanks Pepper Lambert; Take 3-2 Lead in 4th

The Yanks peppered Lambert in the 2nd — getting a leadoff single by Jazz Chisholm and walk by Austin Wells to start the inning, then loading the bases on a 2-out walk to Ben Rice — but Luis Garcia Jr. flied out to end the threat.

The Yanks peppered Lambert again in the 4th — consecutive singles by Chisholm, Wells, and Jose Caballero to start the inning — loading the bases with nobody out.

Trent Grisham grounded into a double play, scoring a run to make it 3-2 NY. Lambert struck out Ben Rice to leave runners on 2nd and 3rd.

3. Rookie Rodriguez Looks Electric

Elmer Rodriguez was called up from AAA to make his 5th start of the season for the Yanks, and he was electric and aggressive from the start.

The 22-year-old, 6’4 righty started the game with three 97-MPH sinkers then a wicked 87-MPH curveball to strike out Jeremy Pena.

Rodriguez then threw 98-MPH and 99-MPH four-seam fastballs and sinkers with the nasty curve to strike out Yordon Alvarez.

Isaac Paredes worked him for a walk however, and Jose Altuve lined a 97-MPH sinker for an RBI double to center and Houston had a 1-0 lead.

But that was a hickup — Elmer retired the next 9 in a row — retiring the side in order in the 2nd inning (with 2 strikeouts and a groundout) and 3rd inning (with 3 straight groundouts).

Daulton Varsho got hold of a 90-MPH changeup with 2 outs in the 4th and hit a HR to center to tie the game 2-2 at the time.

Elmer pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 5th, and threw an easy shutout 6th — getting a doubleplay grounder after allowing a 1-out single.

After walking Jose Altuve to lead off the 7th, Rodriguez was relieved at 88 pitches and the Yanks holding a 3-2 lead. The run would come around to score and be charged to Elmer. His line: 6 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 6 K’s, 3 walks.

“He was nasty; that’s what we get excited about,” said Boone afterward. “I think he got their attention right away — you’re seeing 97, 98, 99 sinkers filling up the zone; spinning a good breaking ball. That was really encouraging to see that, and to see him a little more settled too. That’s the electric arm that we know is in there. I thought he threw the heck out of the ball.”

4. Blackburn Gets Out of Trouble in 7th

Lambert hung tough and continued to rope-a-doping the Yanks — pitching a shutout 5th and getting into and escaping trouble in the 6th. He allowed a 1-out walk to Chisholm, who was then thrown out trying to steal 2nd, and then allowed a single to Austin Wells before being relieved by Kai-Wei Teng who got the final out of the inning.

So it was a 3-2 Yankee lead in the 7th when Elmer Rodriguez walked Jose Altuve to start the inning and was relieved by Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn immediately allowed a double to Daulton Varsho to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out.

Blackburn then got Christian Walker to hit a groundball to shortstop, where George Lombard Jr. made his 5th error in 5 games — and a run scored to tie the game 3-3.

But Blackburn ended the Houston rally there — getting Trammell to ground the ball back to him, where he threw the runner on 3rd out in a rundown.

Blackburn then walked Wade Jr. to load the bases with 1 out — but struck out Vazquez and Pena to end the inning.

5. Yank Bombers Machine-Gun 4 Runs in 7th

So it was a 3-3 tie into the bottom of the 7th — the Yankees at risk of losing the first 2 games of the 3-game series to the Astros.

Houston brought in 6’3 lefty Bennett Sousa, and the Yankee lefty batters went to work — a leadoff single by lefty-swinging Trent Grisham, a walk by lefty Ben Rice (he walked 3 times in the game to go along with the 1st inning HR), and an infield single by lefty Luis Garcia Jr. brought up lefty Cody Bellinger with the bases loaded and nobody out.

And Bellinger smoked a double to center for 2 runs and a 5-3 Yankee lead.

Next batter George Lombard Jr. struck out, but lefty Spencer Jones singled to right for a 6-3 game.

And then lefty Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled to left for a 7-3 Yankee lead.

Finally Houston pulled the lefty Sousa and brought in righty Enyel De Los Santos, the former Yankee who is no relation to current Yankee Yerry de los Santos. In fact their last name is capitalized differently.

Enyel struck out lefty Austin Wells and righty Jose Caballero to end the inning.

6. Fullmer Looks Good

NY brought in Michael Fullmer for the 8th. Fullmer was once upon a time a much ballyhooed elite prospect for the Mets who was traded to the Detroit Tigers as the key player for Yonnies Cespedes, and became a good starting pitcher for the Tigers, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2016 with an 11-7 3.06 record, and making the American League All Start team in 2017 when he ended up 10-12 3.83.

But Tommy John surgery followed, and he came back as a reliever — a decent one until his 2nd Tommy John surgery in 2024. He’s been on the comeback trail since, pitching with Boston and the Cubs last year, and the Angels this year before being released and picked up by the Yanks.

Fullmer looked good and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th.

7. Garcia HR Makes It 9-3

Enyel De Los Santos stayed in for the bottom of the 8th, and got the 1st out before walking Ben Rice, and coughing up a 2-run Bomb to right by Luis Garcia Jr. for a 9-3 game.

8. Hill Wraps Up

Tim Hill wrapped it up — pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th — ground out, ground out, strike out — for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816682

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