Spencer Arrighetti limited a potent Yankees lineup to one run in seven innings Sunday as the Astros averted a three-game sweept.
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Houston Astros’ Isaac Paredes, right, scores behind New York Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra, left, on a double by Astros’ Christian Walker during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Christian Walker hits a two-run double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros second baseman Braden Shewmake (28) fields a ground ball out from New York Yankees’ J.C. Escarra during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Isaac Paredes is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Isaac Paredes celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Isaac Paredes hits a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Christian Walker runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Houston Astros’ Christian Walker, right, is congratulated by third base coach Tony Perezchica, left, after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil (81) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, left, celebrates with Cody Bellinger, right, after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, botttom, slides to avoid a collision as second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) catches a fly ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
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Spencer Arrighetti is doing what he can to slow a spiral. The Houston Astros have won five of their last 20 games. Three have been started by Arrighetti since the right-hander’s return from Triple-A.
The latest was his strongest yet. Arrighetti subdued a New York Yankees offense that entered the highest-scoring in the American League for seven innings, allowing the Astros to salvage the finale of their series at Daikin Park and push pause on their opening-month malaise.
A shorthanded lineup rose to back Arrighetti, with Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker combining to drive in all seven of Houston’s runs in a 7-4 win. Walker and Paredes each struck two-run home runs. Arrighetti made that support appear a luxury.
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Injuries have thinned a rotation that Houston initially deemed had no room for Arrighetti. He now seems a savior for a majors-worst pitching staff. Arrighetti has two of the Astros’ five quality starts in 29 games. He owns a 2.00 ERA after helping them inch their record to 11-18.
Arrighetti held the Yankees to three hits in seven innings, matching Lance McCullers Jr.’s season debut for the longest outing by a Houston starter this season. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter, a day after Astros pitchers tied their season-high with 10 walks allowed.
Aaron Judge hit a sweeper to left-center for a home run in the sixth inning, comprising all of the damage against Arrighetti. It amounted to a dent in Houston’s seven-run lead. Arrighetti allowed no other runner to reach third base, a dominant start the Astros sorely needed.
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Top of the order delivers
With Jose Altuve getting a day off, Yainer Diaz not starting and several position players on IL, the bottom four spots in the Astros’ lineup were occupied by Dustin Harris, Christian Vázquez, Daniel Johnson and Braden Shewmake. None of Harris, Johnson or Shewmake awoke with more than 160 plate appearances or an average above .200 in the majors, and Vázquez is not known for offense, despite his strong start to this season at the plate. They combined to go 0-for-12 in the game’s first six innings.
On a day where their presence was required, the top four hitters in Houston’s lineup delivered. Leadoff man Carlos Correa walked in two of his first three trips to the plate, scoring once. Yordan Alvarez struck hits in the third and fifth innings, scoring both times. Paredes and Walker provided the punch.
Walker crushed a center-cut changeup from Gil for a two-run home run in the first inning. At 432 feet, it was the longest of Walker’s seven homers this season and just shy of matching his longest last year, 433 feet at Fenway Park. In the third, Paredes turned on 95 mph sinker at the top of the zone and arced it off the left-field foul pole. It was Paredes’ first home run this season at Daikin Park, where he was just 7-for-48 entering the day.
In the fifth, Correa drew a leadoff walk and took third on a double by Alvarez that ended Gil’s afternoon. The Yankees turned to right-hander Paul Blackburn. Paredes watched his first three pitches outside the zone, then lined a cutter softly for a single. It was just the sixth time in his career Paredes has put a 3-0 pitch into play. Walker then drove a full-count cutter into the gap in left-center, capping a three-run fifth and giving the Astros a 7-0 lead.
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Efficiency from Arrighetti
Arrighetti’s first inning set a tone. He retired Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Judge on seven pitches. He did not allow any of his innings to exceed five batters.
Paired with Vázquez, who had called for Mike Burrows’ curveball a night earlier, Arrighetti mostly mixed his curveball and four-seam fastball his first time through a lineup with six left-handed hitters. He threw more fastballs and sweepers in later innings but continued to land his breaking pitches for strikes to the lefties. He finished six of eight strikeouts with the curveball.
Arrighetti hit and walked a batter in the third inning but induced a flyout from Judge to strand those two runners. A single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the Yankees’ only hit against him for five innings. Judge beat an 0-1 sweeper for his 10th home run in the sixth. Paul Goldschmidt doubled with one out in the seventh, but Arrighetti struck out J.C. Escarra and induced a fly out from Ryan McMahon to strand him.
Arrighetti notched his eight strikeouts despite inducing just nine whiffs on 41 swings. In 18 innings in the majors this season, he has allowed 11 hits and struck out 21.
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He did his best to offer Houston’s bullpen a respite. Bryan King worked a scoreless eighth, retiring ninth hitter José Caballero, then Grisham and Rice, the two left-handed hitters atop New York’s lineup. Enyel De Los Santos drew the ninth and notched two outs before allowing four straight hits. With the possible tying run in the on-deck circle, De Los Santos retired Caballero on a line out to end the game.
Altuve sits
Altuve received a scheduled off day, manager Joe Espada said, the second time Altuve has not started in Houston’s first 29 games this season.
It occurred with Altuve in a cold stretch at the plate. Altuve entered Sunday with two hits over his last 20 at-bats and with a .194/.239/.284 slash line in his last 16 games. In that span, Altuve recorded one home runs, four extra-base hits, four walks and 15 strikeouts.
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His off-day preceded a team off-day Monday. Espada followed that pattern with veteran players at times last season, as well, to give them consecutive days of rest.
Weighing options with Teng
After the off-day Monday, the Astros start a three-game series in Baltimore. Peter Lambert and Lance McCullers Jr. were listed as probable starters for the final two games of the series with Houston yet to announce a probable starter for Tuesday’s opener. Ryan Weiss would be on turn; Espada said Sunday morning the team is considering multiple options to start that game.
General manager Dana Brown told the Astros’ pregame radio show Sunday “there’s an outside chance” right-hander Kai-Wei Teng could make a start in the Baltimore series. Teng has spent the first month of the season in the bullpen, but Espada affirmed this week the club has had conversations about moving Teng into a starting role to help its injury-thinned rotation.
Teng entered Sunday with a 2.16 ERA through 16 ⅔ relief innings. He has not thrown more than 2 ⅔ innings or 39 pitches in an appearance this season, and Brown acknowledged the Astros would need to build Teng up gradually at the major-league level if asking him to start. Brown suggested that could put Teng on a roughly 50-pitch limit for his first start, if he makes one.
Brown said the Astros believe Teng “can give us the quality innings that we need” to keep games in hand early in and help the team “bridge the gap” until it begins to regain starting pitchers from the IL. Tatsuya Imai is expected to make his first rehab start Tuesday since being placed on the IL with arm fatigue, while Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier are further away recovering from shoulder strains.