NEW YORK – Juan Soto homered and drove in five runs, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep and the New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 9-4 on Wednesday night.
It was the first time the power trio all connected in the same game for the Yankees, who won their fifth straight and improved to 6-0 against the Astros this season.
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“That certainly puts a smile on your face when those three guys do that,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.
Stanton hit a 119.9 mph rocket into the second deck that was the hardest-hit ball in the majors this year.
“We all know how capable we are and when you have nights like that, it’s great,” Soto said.
New York starter Carlos Rodón (3-2) bounced back from his worst outing of the season last week in Baltimore. He allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, earning a nice hand from the home crowd.
Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña homered for the Astros, who lost their fourth in a row and dropped to 12-24.
Soto launched a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the first inning. He connected for a 440-foot drive on a fastball from Houston rookie Spencer Arrighetti (0-4), sending his 10th homer off an advertisement at the back of the Astros’ bullpen in left-center field.
“I feel like when I’m hitting the ball that way and I’m in my best path and my swing is in the best spot, it's everything that I’ve been asking for with all my practices and everything,” Soto said.
Judge lined a 404-foot shot to right-center to open the third. Two batters later, Stanton’s 447-foot solo drive stayed fair inside the left-field foul pole.
It was Stanton’s third hardest-hit homer since Statcast tracking began in 2015, and it came one night after he launched a 118.8 mph homer off Justin Verlander.
“I feel like the night before he had the hardest hit in baseball,” Judge said. “Then he outdid himself again tonight. Just impressive.”
Judge’s homer was part of his second three-hit game this season. He added a pair of doubles, including a two-run double that put the Yankees up 8-1 in the sixth.
New York improved to 34-4 when Stanton and Judge homer in the same game, including the postseason.
Throw in Soto’s drive, and the trio hit a combined 1,291 feet of home runs.
New York beat the Astros for the ninth straight time dating to last year. The season series concludes Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
Since the start of last season, the Yankees are 11-2 against Houston, which eliminated them from the playoffs four times from 2015-22, including in the AL Championship Series in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
Soto also hit RBI singles in the second and eighth along with a run-scoring groundout in the sixth. He is batting .538 (14 for 26) against the Astros in his first season with the Yankees and had his fourth career game with at least five RBIs.
“He’s always been hard (to face),” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It doesn’t matter who’s pitching. Juan Soto is a great hitter.”
Jake Meyers hit an RBI triple and Jose Altuve had an RBI double in the ninth for Houston, which got 11 hits but went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Arrighetti allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Cristian Javier (neck), who pitched 3 1/3 innings Saturday in a rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi, threw a bullpen ahead of his return to the rotation this weekend. … RHP Jose Urquidy (right forearm) and OF Chas McCormick (right hamstring) are expected to begin rehab assignments this weekend.
Yankees: RHP Tommy Kahnle (right shoulder) struck out two in one inning for Class A Tampa during his first minor league rehab appearance. Kahnle will appear in at least four more rehab games before possibly being activated. … RHP Nick Burdi (right hip), who made his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, could be activated Friday.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Ronel Blanco (3-0, 2.09 ERA) opposes RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 3.41) in Thursday’s series finale.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb