Hayden Wesneski worked into the sixth inning Thursday before allowing a run to help the Astros take a series win at Yankee Stadium.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
NEW YORK — A series that began with a change in leadership ended with a lift. Three games at Yankee Stadium encapsulated the up-and-down nature of this Houston Astros season. Fallout from a general manager’s exit ceded to a resilient win, a pitching meltdown to a strong night for an embattled staff.
The result was the Astros, again, sitting squarely at .500 as they left the Bronx on Thursday night, with another series in Queens to play this weekend. They sat atop the American League West by one game, closer resembling the contender they aim to be when matched against one of the league’s top clubs.
Four pitchers combined to hold the Yankees to five hits Thursday. Their lineup scratched across three runs against Gerrit Cole and added on against New York’s bullpen. They took two of three games from the Yankees, winning a series for just the second time in their last seven tries.
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“I thought it was something that we needed to do after our homestand (when) we did not play well,” manager Joe Espada said. “Came here and we took care of business, winning a series against a good team. I thought there was some energy and we played really well.”
Christian Walker and Jeremy Peña hit home runs. Hayden Wesneski, Steven Okert, AJ Blubaugh and Josh Hader held the Yankees to an 0-for-9 mark with men in scoring position. The Yankees gifted an insurance run with a late defensive lapse, but only after Peña provided one with his seventh-inning homer.
“Every game means so much to us, and we played great baseball here,” Peña said. “That’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”
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It was a needed response to a homestand on which Houston lost series to the Mariners, Angels and A’s. The team’s decision to part with general manager Dana Brown on Monday created a strange backdrop against which the Astros took the field at Yankee Stadium. They salvaged a series from it.
“I think all the stuff that’s going on, I think it’s a good reminder to each other that let’s keep our heads down and play for each other,” Walker said.
Houston
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
37
5
9
4
2
8
Peña ss
4
2
1
1
0
2
.282
Alvarez dh
4
0
0
0
0
3
.319
Paredes 3b
4
0
2
1
1
1
.261
Altuve 2b
4
0
0
0
0
0
.245
Allen 2b
1
0
1
0
0
0
.264
Varsho cf
4
1
0
0
1
2
.234
Walker 1b
4
2
3
2
0
0
.233
Diaz c
4
0
1
0
0
0
.261
Trammell lf
4
0
1
0
0
0
.209
Smith rf
4
0
0
0
0
0
.214
New York
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
31
1
5
1
2
11
Grisham cf
4
0
0
0
0
1
.217
Rice dh
4
1
2
0
0
0
.253
García 1b
4
0
0
0
0
2
.284
Bellinger lf
2
0
0
1
1
0
.256
Lombard ss
4
0
1
0
0
2
.264
Jones rf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.229
a-Ramos ph
1
0
0
0
0
1
.240
Chisholm 2b
2
0
1
0
1
1
.227
b-Rosario ph
1
0
0
0
0
0
.225
Wells c
3
0
0
0
0
3
.180
Caballero 3b
3
0
1
0
0
0
.234
Houston
001
002
110_5
9
0
New York
000
001
000_1
5
2
a-struck out for Jones in the 9th. b-flied out for Chisholm in the 9th.
E_Lombard (7), Caballero (9). LOB_Houston 9, New York 6. 2B_Walker (25), Rice (21). 3B_Lombard (1). HR_Walker (24), off Cole; Peña (16), off De los Santos. RBIs_Paredes (73), Walker 2 (75), Peña (44), Bellinger (59). SB_Chisholm 2 (38). SF_Bellinger.
Runners left in scoring position_Houston 2 (Varsho 2); New York 4 (Jones 2, Grisham 2). RISP_Houston 1 for 3; New York 0 for 9.
Runners moved up_Caballero, García.
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
5
3
1
1
2
6
91
3.86
1
1
0
0
0
0
12
2.17
2
1
0
0
0
3
32
3.17
1
0
0
0
0
2
8
0.79
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
6
6
3
3
1
5
79
3.19
1
1
1
1
0
1
14
1.45
2
2
1
0
1
2
34
7.29
Inherited runners-scored_Okert 1-1. HBP_Cole (Peña), Topa (Alvarez).
ABS Challenge_Cole (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Okert (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Varsho (Strike-Confirmed).
Umpires_Home, John Tumpane; First, Adam Hamari; Second, Clint Vondrak; Third, Steven Jaschinski.
T_2:37. A_41,203 (47,309).
How Astros’ offense fared vs. Gerrit Cole
Pregame, Espada said of the Astros facing Cole: “He’s not going to pitch on the edges. He’s just going to come after you with his best stuff.”
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That proved true. Cole, the former Houston star, pounded the strike zone for six innings. He didn’t exceed 13 pitches in any of the first five. A longer sixth, in which Walker’s two-run home run gave the Astros a 3-0 lead, proved his last.
Cole worked his first five innings on 54 pitches, throwing 44 strikes. He worked around singles in each of his first two frames. In the third, Cole hit Peña on the left hand with a 96 mph fastball. Peña was checked by a trainer by stayed in the game. His speed proved critical.
With two outs, Cole got ahead 0-2 against Isaac Paredes. Peña broke for second on the pitch, a 98.9 mph fastball that Paredes lofted into the right-field corner, and scored on the single. He was the only Houston runner to pass first base in Cole’s first five innings.
Cole issued his lone walk in the sixth. Daulton Varsho drew it, coming back from an 0-2 count to extend the inning.
“I thought that was the at-bat of the game,” Espada said.
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Walker, then, drove a curveball just over the wall in right-center field. It was just the third home run by a right-handed hitter against Cole in his 17 starts this season. Cole totaled 79 pitches in a quality start.
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker, right, celebrates his two-run home run with teammate Daulton Varsho (18) during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker, center left, celebrates his two-run home run with teammate Daulton Varsho (18) during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) stills second base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. steals second base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena checks his hand after being hit by New York Yankees’ pitcher Gerrit Cole during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena is hit in the hand by New York Yankees’ pitcher Gerrit Cole during the third inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Hayden Wesneski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Hayden Wesneski (39) pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Hayden Wesneski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Hayden Wesneski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole (45) pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker, (8) runs to score his two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press
How did Hayden Wesneski pitch?
Wesneski’s early pace suggested he could become the first Astros starter to complete six innings since Aug. 10 — when Wesneski worked seven innings in San Francisco. Taxing middle innings prevented that, but Wesneski left the mound in the sixth with a scoreless outing still intact.
“I felt like there was a little more to be had there,” Wesneski said of his outing. “One run in five innings plays everywhere, anytime, so I’m just nitpicking. Yeah, I’m happy with it. But I felt like there was a little bit I could have sharpened up.”
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Wesneski retired nine of his first 10 batters, the lone exception an infield single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. He allowed a leadoff single and a one-out walk in the fourth but froze George Lombard Jr. on a third-strike sweeper and got Spencer Jones to swing through a changeup to end the inning.
Yankees hitters whiffed on just 10 of 44 swings against Wesneski, but his strikeouts were timely. In the fifth, Chisholm worked a leadoff walk and stole second on a third strike to Austin Wells. A fly out sent him to third. Trent Grisham whiffed at a full-count sinker to strand Chisholm there.
The Yankees averaged an 88.9 mph exit velocity on 12 balls in play against Wesneski, but just three fell for hits. Left-hander Steven Okert began to warm in the fifth, but with his bullpen taxed, Espada asked Wesneski to start the sixth inning with the 2-3-4 spots of New York’s order due up.
Ben Rice laced a leadoff double, bringing Espada from the dugout. Wesneski said catcher Yainer Diaz called for a slider on the pitch, but he shook to a fastball, a reason the right-hander felt he “probably could have come away with one more inning.”
Two deep fly outs against Okert scored Rice, the run charged to Wesneski, who has a 3.86 ERA in six outings since his return from elbow surgery. The Astros are 5-1 in the games he has started.
“He had those two walks, but he threw a ton of strikes, he punched some people out,” Espada said. “He was efficient enough where we could take him into the sixth there and deploy our bullpen.”
A Bronx bomb for Christian Walker
Walker began the day 6-for-50 over his past 14 games and with one home run in August. He delivered a good swing in his first at-bat against Cole, however, punching a 96.6 mph fastball through the right side of the infield for a second-inning single at 107.5 mph off the bat. Cole retired him on a ground out in his second at-bat.
In the sixth, Walker took a high fastball for ball one from Cole, who followed with a curveball. Cole used his curveball at a higher rate than usual against Houston’s right-handed hitters in his outing. He’d thrown the pitch 10.9% of the time against righties this season and did so 28% of the time Thursday. No right-handed hitter had homered against the pitch since 2022.
Walker lofted it 369 feet to right-center field. Spencer Jones tracked it to the wall but ran out of room. The home run was Walker’s 24th this season and the 198th of his career. It would have been a homer in one major-league ballpark, per Statcast — Yankee Stadium.
“I hit it well,” Walker said. “I know that right field’s kind of close, felt like it had a chance. But then I felt like Jones, he was camped for a second, made it look like he was under it. So an emotional roller coaster, but it got out.”
Who do Astros play next?
The Astros will continue their week in New York with a three-game series against the Mets starting Friday night at Citi Field. Hunter Brown will start the series opener for the Astros, who have not named starters for the final two games. Cristian Javier and Ethan Pecko could start those games on four days’ rest.
The Mets are scheduled to start right-handers Christian Scott and Nolan McLean in the first two games, followed by left-hander Zac Thornton in the finale. Sunday’s game will be carried by NBC and Peacock, with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT.