Collin McHugh held the New York Yankees (41-43) to two hits and one run through eight innings Sunday afternoon, and he got just enough offensive support to pitch the Houston Astros (44-34) to a 3-1 victory at Minute Maid Park.
McHugh (W: 9-3, 4.51 ERA) allowed only four total base runners -- on two singles and two walks -- while striking out eight Yankees in his eight innings of work. Only Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez hit safely with Gardner's hit an RBI single in the top of the third that scored Stephen Drew for the Yankees' only run. Drew had walked and taken second on a wild pitch. His run gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.
Houston tied it in the bottom of the fourth on what some might call a "Little League home run." Carlos Correa lofted a high fly ball into left center field. Garrett Jones and Gardner converged, but neither took charge, and the ball dropped safely in between them. Gardner then kicked the ball to the wall, and Correa -- with his blazing speed -- circled the bases to tie the game at 1.
The Astros took the lead in the seventh. Correa led off with a double to left. After Jose Altuve bunted him to third, Evan Gattis drove him home with an RBI triple. In the eighth, Houston added an insurance run via Jason Castro's sacrifice fly that brought home Preston Tucker for the game's final tally.
Luke Gregerson (S: 18) pitched a perfect ninth inning to close it out for McHugh and the Astros. He got three ground balls to the right side with Mark Teixeira grounding out to first to end it.
Michael Pineda (L: 8-5, 4.08) pitched a complete game in suffering the loss. He was very solid, but he allowed three earned runs on seven hits in eight innings. He did not walk anyone, and he struck out eight.
On Monday, the Yankees move onto Southern California for three games with the Los Angeles Angels while Houston stays home to host the Kansas City Royals Monday through Wednesday.
