Houston Astros fight back, fall 9-6 on Mark Teixeira double

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Oberholtzer ejected early

There was a ton of action today at Minute Made Park, but it would be the New York Yankees who would walk away with the victory after defeating the Houston Astros by the final score of 9-6, grabbing the two-game series advantage Saturday afternoon.

Catcher Brian McCann jumped all over starting pitcher Brett Oberholtzer early, launching a grand slam to right field, scoring Brett Gardner, Chris Young, and Alex Rodriguez to make it 4-0 during the top half of the first inning.

Young followed that up with a two-run shot to left field, his second home run of the series which made it 6-0, eventually getting into the head of Houston’s young pitcher.

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Oberholtzer (2-1, 4.32 ERA) entered the game with an ERA just under three but was hammered by the Bronx Bombers in his seventh outing of the season. He was ejected after just 1 1/3 frames after throwing inside at A-Rod, finishing the day with six earned runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout behind the two big flies.

Shortly after the 27-year-old made his exit, his team would begin to fight back by putting their power on display. First baseman Chris Carter put the Astros on the board with an RBI double to left field then came around to score on a base hit by George Springer on the third pitch of the at-bat.

Carter continued to see the ball well, taking Tanaka deep to left field for a solo bomb, bringing his team within just three runs. Both Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve evened things up at six apiece during the home half of the fifth inning.

Correa – who is making a strong push for A.L. Rookie of the Year – connected on a two-run shot to right field – his fifth of the year which brought Houston within one. Altuve lifted a 84 miles per hour slider over the left-field wall to erase the deficit.

Tanaka (4-3, 3.88 ERA) exited the game after five frames, allowing six earned runs on seven hits with two walks, five strikeouts, and three home runs that erased his chances of recording the win.

New York started off the eighth inning with a Gardner walk, who reached base safely four times in the ballgame. Third baseman Luis Valbuena later fielded a ground ball off the bat of Young and tossed it over to Altuve who touched the back corner of the bag and lost the ball while Gardner attempted to break up the double-play chance.

Mark Teixeira broke things wide open just a couple of batter’s later on an RBI double to left-center, scoring both Gardner and Young to give the Yankees the 8-6 lead.

Third baseman Chase Headley dealt the final blow of the game on a fly ball to left-center off reliever Tony Sipp, extending the lead to 9-6.

Next: Correa Could Win A.L. ROY Honors