Where & When To Watch
Tonight: Coverage of game one begins at 7:30 p.m. on Prime. YES and the YES App will have the Postgame Show right after the final out.
Saturday: Coverage of game two begins at 6 p.m. on YES and the YES App.
Sunday: Coverage of game three begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN. YES and the YES App will have the Postgame Show right after the final out.
Leading Off
Tonight the Yankees are starting the final series of a 10-game road trip with the first of three against the Astros, who are fighting for first place in the American League West. As first reported by YES’ Jack Curry on Wednesday, OF Jasson Domínguez and C Austin Wells are joining the Yankees for action in Houston. Domínguez is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the second-best prospect in the Yankees organization behind OF Spencer Jones while Wells is ranked eighth.
How ‘Bout That
With his game-tying three-run homer in the ninth inning against the Tigers yesterday, Anthony Volpe put himself in rare company! He became the first player in Yankees history and just the 15th in MLB history to have a season of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases as a rookie. The feat had previously been done a few times in recent years – since there is a month left in the season, could Volpe push to go 25/25? Only three rookies have ever done that: Julio Rodriguez last year, Mike Trout with the 2012 Angels and former Yankee Chris Young of the 2007 Diamondbacks. Volpe is also just the second shortstop in Yankees history to have 20 home runs in their rookie campaign, joining Tom Tresh in 1962.
Pinstriped Pulse
Domínguez earned his call-up by delivering big numbers during a brief stint with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre after being promoted from Double-A Somerset, and the 20-year-old will join a small club when he appears in a game against the Astros! Domínguez will become just the 49th player in the 121-season history of the Yankees franchise to make their MLB debut with the team prior to turning 21 years old. It’s a group that includes some of the greatest players to ever wear pinstripes including Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, and our beloved friend and colleague from the early days of YES Bobby Murcer. The 24-year-old Wells will debut a little more than three years after the Yankees selected him with the 28th overall pick in the 2020 Draft. It was a case of the Yanks finally getting their man – they had previously chosen Wells in the 35th round of the 2018 Draft out of high school, but he did not sign and went to the University of Arizona. Wells will become just the second player since at least 1986 to get drafted twice by the Yankees and end up playing for the team. The other is Nick Goody, who pitched in 34 games for the 2015 and 2016 Yankees. Turning to the veterans, DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres will try to duplicate the work they did in the first series between the Yankees and Astros earlier this season. Torres went 8-for-14 with a couple of home runs while LeMahieu went 5-for-11 with a pair of doubles.
Probable Pitchers
Carlos Rodon will start the series opener tonight for the Yanks when he works opposite Justin Verlander, who is 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA in five starts since rejoining Houston at the trade deadline including a win over the Yankees at the Stadium on Aug. 5 when he made the first start of his second stint with the Astros. Luis Severino will try to keep a hot run going when he starts tomorrow against Hunter Brown - over his last two outings, Severino threw 13.2 scoreless innings in a home win over Washington and a road victory in Detroit. The finale will see Michael King start versus the struggling Cristian Javier, whose ERA is 7.46 over his last 11 outings. King has looked good in two starts since transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation, throwing 6.2 innings without giving up an earned run.