The Houston Astros dropped their series opener 12-4 to the New York Yankees on Friday night at Daikin Park. A rough first inning, defensive errors, and missed opportunities kept Houston from recovering.
First and foremost, the Astros had a disastrous first inning. They started Lance McCullers Jr., but he struggled immediately. He walked the first two batters, the second one being Aaron Judge. Then he allowed a hit, which loaded the bases.
Two walks and a base hit is a dangerous way to open a game against the team with the best record in the American League.
Then, right after that, he allowed another hit, a ground ball that should have resulted in an easy double play, but Altuve made an error, and the Yankees scored the first run of the game.
McCullers somewhat made up for his early trouble by snatching a hit right out of the air and tossing to first base for the double play. But, right after that great play by McCullers, Jazz Chisholm delivered a base hit, driving in two runs for an RBI double. The Yankees led 3-0 at the end of the top of the first.
In the bottom of the first, the Astros made some contact, but it resulted in easy plays for the Yankees, and the inning was over quickly.
Despite McCullers giving up walks, hits, and runs, they put him back on the mound for the second, and then he gave up his first home run to Ben Rice, extending the lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Astros showed signs of life. Base hits, walks, and a run made it seem like they were building momentum and mounting a comeback after a difficult first inning. Houston cut the deficit to 4-1.
Yordan Alvarez had a base hit, but was picked off first base after being caught off guard, killing the momentum. While the Astros had some solid plays, they made little mistakes they couldn't afford against a team like the Yankees.
New York continued to pile on from there, finishing with 12 runs on 15 hits while launching multiple home runs.
Between the multiple home runs, little mistakes, a costly first inning, and just not doing enough, the Yankees absolutely dominated.
The Astros will look to bounce back in the second game of the series Saturday, but they seriously need to step up their game to avoid another blowout.