Astros had postseason motivation to beat Yankees in doubleheader

The Houston Astros now have a tiebreaker against the New York Yankees if need be following their Game 1 doubleheader victory.

The New York Yankees entered the All-Star break with the best record in the American League. Not that far behind them were the Houston Astros, who held the second-most wins in the AL. On Thursday, July 21, the Astros and Yankees competed in a doubleheader to end their series.

Houston was able to get the Game 1 victory on a walk-off single by rookie J.J. Matijevic off reliever Michael King in the bottom of the ninth inning. This is now their fourth win against the Yankees in their six head-to-head meetings. So, if Houston and New York were to be tied at the end of the regular season, the former would get the home-field advantage.

Astros manager Dusty Baker spoke about the win and its postseason implications after the game. The video comes courtesy of FOX 26’s Mark Berman.

Astros now hold postseason tiebreaker over Yankees

That is certainly quite the way for the Astros to return from the All-Star break.

When it comes to the series with the Yankees, the Astros have had some big moments. From their combined no-hitter against New York at Yankee Stadium on June 25 to Matijevic’s walk-off hit earlier on Thursday.

Houston got to an early 2-0 lead after an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the first and an RBI double by Korey Lee in the second inning. But the Yankees did manage to tie things up following a solo homer by DJ LeMahieu in the top of the fifth inning and an RBI single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the top of the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Astros threatened the Yankees immediately after a single by Bregman and a double by Aldemys Diaz in the first two at-bats. The bases eventually loaded once the Yankees intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez. King was almost out of the jam after striking out Chas McCormick for the second out. Then, Baker called upon Matijevic to pinch hit for Lee, and it paid off.

The Astros now hold a tiebreaker over the Yankees if need be. Now we wait to see what both organizations do to further bolster their rosters by the Aug. 2 trade deadline.