Hayden Wesneski & Astros Pen Shut Down Yanks. Houston 5 NY 1

August 28, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Cody Bellinger sac fly in 6th makes it 3-1 game, Houston up.

Hayden Wesneski and the Astros’ bullpen shut down the Yankee offense for a 5-1 Houston win on a wet Thursday night at Yankee Stadium — thunderstorms all day causing massive flooding but ending by game time.

Wesneski is a 28-year-old, 6’3 righthander who came up with the Cubs organization and is in his 2nd year in Houston. He pitched a shutout into the 6th to out-duel Gerrit Cole — who pitched 6 pretty good innings, allowing 3 runs. Wesneski ended up credited with 5 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball to win and go 4-1 3.86 on the year. The Houston bullpen of Steven Okert, AJ Blubaugh, and Josh Hader did the rest with 4 shutout innings.

The Yanks only got 5 hits on the night — 2 by Ben Rice, and 1 each by George Lombard Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Jose Caballero.

George Lombard Jr. booted a ball in the 7th inning — his 6th error in the last 6 games.

“Wesneski did a nice job, for the most part just staying off our barrels,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “He spins it well, and does a good job with the cutter and has the 2 fastballs going 2 different ways, and that was enough to get off some barrels in some situations.”

NY falls to 75-58, and are 4 back of Tampa and 2 ahead of Boston. Houston takes 2 of 3 in the series and improve to 67-67, in 1st place in the AL West by a game over Texas.

1. Cole Pitched Well

Good news for the Yanks: Gerrit Cole continues to pitch like the old Gerrit Cole and seems completely recovered from the Tommy John surgery. He was throwing his 98-MPH heat with tough off-speed arsenal.

Cole had a shutout going into the 3rd when he hit Jeremy Pena with a pitch, and then with 2 outs, Isaac Paredes singled to right, scoring Pena for a 1-0 Houston lead.

Cole then pitched a shutout 4th and 5th and got the first 2 outs of the 6th, but walked Daulton Varsho and allowed a 2-run HR just over the fence in right-center for a 3-0 Houston lead.

“I thought we made a lot of really good pitches tonite,” said Gerrit Cole about he and his catcher Austin Wells. “I thought we had really an elite offering of all pitches. I think in certain situations we executed and they beat us — so it’s just a bit unfortunate but sometimes that’s the way it breaks.”

2. Wisneski Tough

But Hadyen Wisneski was even stingier, using a 93-MPH fastball and a lot of 83-MPH sweepers and an 88-MPH changeup to confuse the Yankees.

Wesneski retired the first 6 Yanks of the game before Jazz Chisholm Jr. got the first hit leading off the 3rd with a single. But Wesneski got 3 straight outs to end the inning.

The Yanks got 2 runners on base in the 4th after a Ben Rice leadoff single and Cody Bellinger 1-out walk, but Wesneski struck out George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the 5th with a walk — but again Wesneski got 3 straight outs and had a shutout going thru 5 innings.

3. Yanks Only Run Came in 6th to Make It 3-1

The only Yankee run came in the 6th: Ben Rice led off with a double, which sent Wesneski to the showers in a 3-0 game.

Reliever Steven Okert got Luis Garcia Jr. to fly out to the wall in center; it just missed being a 2-run HR — but it moved Rice to 3rd. And then Cody Bellinger hit a sac fly to medium center for a 3-1 game.

Next batter George Lombard Jr. hit a triple — his first in the big leagues — but was stranded at 3rd as Spencer Jones fouled out to 3rd.

4. de los Santos Gives Back Run on HR in 7th

But Yerry de los Santos gave the run right back in the top of the 7th, allowing a solo HR to Jeremy Pena for a 4-1 Houston lead.

5. Topa Pitches for Yanks

Justin Topa, the 35-year-old, 6’4 righthander from Binghamton NY who has spent a journeyman career with Milwaukee, Seattle, and Minnesota — pitched the 8th and 9th for the Yanks.

6. Lombard Makes 6th Error in Last 6 Games

George Lombard Jr. made his 6th error in the last 6 games in the 7th inning — a 2-out grounder that he flubbed while taking the ball out of his glove to throw it — the ball picked out of the air by Jose Caballero who then threw to 1st and threw it away — allowing Christian Walker to score from 2nd for a 5-1 game.

7. Blaubaugh & Hader Tough

AJ Blaubaugh pitched a shutout 7th and 8th — allowing only a 2-out single by Jose Caballero in the 7th but striking out 3.

And Josh Hader pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th, strikeout, strikeout, fly out for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816696

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