The Astros have been through it lately. There was a brief stretch where things were looking up, they'd climbed back to .500 and were leading the AL West. But that didn't last. Right when it looked like they should've been running away with the division, they turned around and dropped series after series to some of the worst teams in the league, and things have looked shaky ever since.
The Yankees may not have Aaron Judge right now, but they are still the Yankees, and the Astros were a bit shaken up in more ways than one heading into this series. Between the ugly losses, the Astros also fired their GM, Dana Brown, and Joe Espada was informed his contract would not be renewed but was given the option to finish out the season, which he decided to do.
The Houston Astros held their own and took the series opener against the Yankees, winning 9-7. Somehow they were absolutely destroyed by the worst team in baseball just days earlier, but they kept the Yankees on their toes all night.
But Wednesday's game was a different story, and New York evened the series with a 9-3 win.
Thursday night, things need to change. The Astros can't afford to lose this game. They are neck and neck with the Rangers, and they need a win to keep the division lead and get back to .500.
Here is a look at what to expect for the series finale.
Hayden Wesneski (3-1, 4.23 ERA, 22 SO) gets the ball for Houston. He's still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, and his outings have been up and down as he continues finding his rhythm again.
Gerrit Cole (7-6, 3.11 ERA, 100 SO) takes the mound for the Yankees. Cole missed all of 2025 recovering from his own Tommy John surgery, but he's looked every bit like the ace New York remembers since returning in late May, sitting in the high 90s and racking up strikeouts start after start.
This is the toughest pitching matchup of the series for Houston, and it's also the most important game. A win keeps them in first place heading into the next stretch, but a loss means dropping the series and likely losing the division lead.
The Yankees are the toughest matchup they've had in a while, but good or bad, you never know what you're going to get from the Astros lately.
