May 14, 2017; Bronx, NY, USA; Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter poses for a photo with his monument park plaque along with former teammates during a pre-game ceremony to also retire his jersey number before the game against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium. Photo Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK — Alex Bregman hit his first career grand slam, and the Houston Astros belted four home runs off Masahiro Tanaka before holding on for a 10-7 victory over the New York Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday night.
Houston rocked Tanaka (5-2) shortly after former Yankees captain Derek Jeter had his No. 2 retired.
George Springer homered in each of his first two at-bats, and Josh Reddick hit a solo home run as the Astros took three of four in the series after losing the doubleheader opener by an 11-6 margin.
Carlos Beltran added an RBI double and Carlos Correa lifted a sacrifice fly as Houston improved to 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Astros (26-12) also are off to their best 38-game start, surpassing the 25-13 mark set by the team two years ago and in 1998.
Houston won three times in the four-game series.
The Astros scored their final run when pinch runner Marwin Gonzalez came home on a passed ball by catcher Gary Sanchez with two outs in the ninth.
Brett Gardner had an RBI single among three hits, and Matt Holliday slugged a three-run homer for the Yankees, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
New York scored three runs in the ninth inning on a wild pitch by Dayan Diaz and an RBI single by Starlin Castro, forcing closer Ken Giles to enter the game in a non-save situation.
Giles then gave up a run-scoring single to Aaron Judge, who took third when left fielder Jake Marisnick overran the ball for an error. The game ended when Aaron Hicks grounded out to Giles representing the tying run.
Tanaka experienced the worst outing of his three-plus seasons, allowing a career-high eight runs to go along with seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. He tied a career worst by allowing four home runs for the second time and matched the shortest start of his career.
Houston’s Charlie Morton (5-2) allowed four runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 10 and walked four.
The Astros scored six times while Jeter was giving his press conference about the ceremony.
Springer made it 1-0 when he drove a full-count slider over the center-field fence. On the next pitch, Reddick lined a sinker over the right-field fence.
Tanaka gave up singles to Correa and Beltran before hitting Yuli Gurriel with a pitch with one out. On the next pitch, Bregman hit a split-fingered fastball over the left-center field fence.
Houston took a 7-0 lead when Springer opened the second by hitting the first pitch over the right-center field fence. The Astros took an 8-0 lead when Beltran doubled off the right-center field wall to chase Tanaka.
The Astros went ahead 9-0 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Correa, which occurred two batters after Reddick reached on catcher’s interference.
New York scored four runs in the fifth.
An RBI single by Gardner made it 9-1 and two batters later, Holliday homered into the right-center-field bleachers.
NOTES: Former Yankees captain Derek Jeter became the 22nd player/manager to get his number retired by the team during a pregame ceremony that lasted about 40 minutes. Asked about reports he is part of a group trying to buy the Miami Marlins, Jeter said: “There’s nothing to report, absolutely nothing.” … Houston CF George Springer extended his hitting streak to 13 games with his leadoff home run. … Astros C Brian McCann took a ball off the mask in the fourth inning during an at-bat by Yankees RF Aaron Judge but stayed in the game after getting looked at by a trainer.
