Hayden Wesneski pitched five-plus effective innings, Christian Walker hit a two-run homer off Gerrit Cole as part of a three-hit display and the visiting Houston Astros earned a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.
Drafted by the Yankees in 2019 and traded to the Cubs in a 2022 deadline deal, Wesneski (4-1) limited the AL wild-card leaders to one run on three hits in five-plus innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked two in his sixth start since returning from Tommy John surgery on July 29.
Walker snapped a 0-for-11 skid with a single in the second off Cole (7-7). Following a two-out, full-count walk to Daulton Varsho in the sixth, Walker lifted 1-0 knuckle-curve into the first row of the right-center field seats for a 3-0 lead.
Walker added a double in the eighth off Justin Topa, who was making his New York debut. Walker scored when rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. and Jose Caballero were charged with errors on Yainer Diaz’s grounder.
Walker finished with three hits for the eighth time this season and first since picking up four on June 27.
Issac Paredes gave the Astros the lead in the third with an RBI single. Jeremy Pena homered in the seventh off reliever Yerry De Los Santos after scoring Houston’s first run.
Cole allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. The right-hander struck out five and issued his only walk to Varsho after getting ahead 0-2 to the Houston centerfielder.
On a night in which the first 18,000 fans received promotional George Costanza bobbleheads as part of a “Seinfeld Night” promotion, the Yankees were held to five hits and lost for the third time in the last five games.
Ben Rice had two of New York’s hits. Rice scored the lone run in the sixth when he doubled and scored on Cody Bellinger’s sacrifice fly off Steven Okert
Wesneski was lifted after Rice doubled. Okert allowed a triple to Lombard but retired Spencer Jones when Issac Paredes leaned over the rail near the Houston dugout to catch a foul pop up.
A.J. Blubaugh pitched two scoreless innings and Josh Hader pitched the ninth as Houston secured its first series win in its last five attempts.