Alvarez, Singleton hit long homers in 1st inning to help Astros avoid being swept by Yankees.
Alvarez, Singleton hit long homers in 1st inning to help Astros avoid being swept by Yankees
newyork NEW YORK — Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton each hit long homers in the first inning for the Houston Astros, who beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Thursday night to avoid being swept in the season series.
Alvarez, who was 3 for 32 with no homers in his previous nine games entering Thursday, hit a two-out solo shot off Marcus Stroman (2-2) into the second deck in right field measured at 116.8 mph.
“When he hit it, he looked in the dugout (as if he was) saying ‘Hey, I’m coming,'” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “And we know he’s coming and we can’t wait for him to get here.”
Alvarez helped lead the celebration in the dugout two batters later, when Singleton hit a two-run homer off the facade along the third deck in right field clocked at 115.4 mph. It was only the ninth time in Stroman’s career he surrendered two homers in an inning.
“Stroman’s a good pitcher, typically he stays out of the middle part of the plate,” Singleton said. “He made a pitch down the middle and that’s all I could hope for.”
Television cameras captured a wide-eyed Alvarez saying, “Whoa!” as he leaned along the railing. Told of Alvarez’s reaction, Singleton grinned.
“That means I hit it real well,” Singleton said.
The Astros are the first team in the Statcast era (2015-present) to hit two homers measured at 115 mph off the bat in the same inning. The homers were the hardest-hit balls against the Yankees this season.
Jeremy Peña had two hits, including a fifth-inning RBI single, for the Astros, who were outscored 40-18 in the first six games this season — all losses — against the Yankees, whom they beat in the AL Championship Series in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
Houston, whose 13-24 start is tied for the fifth-worst record in franchise history through 37 games, has never gone winless against an opponent in a season series lasting longer than six games.
“That was a big win for us,” Peña said. “We needed that and we’re going to try to build off that.”
Anthony Volpe hit a two-run homer off Ronel Blanco (4-0) in the third, while Aaron Judge hit a 473-foot solo shot clocked at 115.7 mph off the bat against Ryan Pressly in the eighth. Per Statcast, Thursday marks the first time three homers measured at 115 mph or more were hit in the same game.
