The Houston Astros took on the New York Yankees Sunday for the final game of the series. After dropping the first two games, the Astros avoided the sweep in the finale and put together a much cleaner all-around performance from start to finish.
The biggest difference from the first two games was the pitching. Spencer Arrighetti has been getting the job done for the Astros this season while they navigate pitching struggles, and continues to show growth each time he takes the mound.
In the second game, Mike Burrows held on, but once they turned to the bullpen, everything unraveled.
Arrighetti pitched seven innings and allowed just three hits, one run, and recorded eight strikeouts, securing another win, his third of the season. After two brutal losses, Arrighetti answered with a dominant outing and proved he can deliver under pressure.
The Astros did not just rely on pitching. They backed it up with timely offense. Christian Walker hit a homer his first time up to bat, marking his second straight game with a home run.
Walker came in hot in the first inning with that two-run homer, giving Houston the lead at 2-0. His next at-bat did not disappoint either. He lined a single back up the middle, moving to 2 for 2. Then later, he drove one off the back wall for an RBI double, bringing home Alvarez and Paredes.
Walker was not the only one making an impact on Sunday. Paredes also got in on the home run action with a two-run shot, his third home run of the season and his first at Daikin Park.
With Yordan Alvarez batting ahead of him, Paredes has proven to be a dangerous presence in the lineup. When Alvarez reaches base, Paredes has consistently turned opportunities into runs, and Sunday was another example of that middle-order production paying off.
Between the outfield doing their job, like Cam Smith tracking down early fly balls, and the infield handling its work cleanly, along with Arrighetti on the mound and key bats like Paredes, Alvarez, Walker, and Correa, the Astros showed what they can look like when everything clicks. Sunday was proof of that. A win like this is exactly the kind of momentum this team needs to carry forward as they try to stay competitive, especially in a division where every series win matters early in the season.