Gomez steals the spotlight as Astros soar over Yankees

[August 26, 2015]  (The Sports Xchange) - Carlos Gomez had an eventful game when he homered, drove in four runs and nearly got involved in a benches-clearing incident as the Houston Astros crushed the New York Yankees 15-1 on Tuesday.

Gomez led Houston to only its fourth win in the last 20 road games by getting an RBI double in the first off right-hander Ivan Nova (5-6) and a three-run home run in the seventh off left-hander Chris Capuano.

In between hits, the Yankees nearly triggered a brawl when Gomez flied out in the sixth. He ran down the first line in a way the home team seemed to object to and said "shut up" a few times in response to the players yelling at him.

"He's a high-energy player," Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel said after scattering three hits in seven innings for his 15th win.

"He loves the game. He loves his team mates. He's a guy you love on your team and if he's on another team I can see why some guys don't like him. He's playing hard and we love that."
 

New York manager Joe Girardi felt that his players had been riled by Gomez's taunting.

"Some of our guys took exception to it and I think they took even a little more exception when he started yelling at our dugout," Girardi said.

Gomez met catcher John-Ryan Murphy at home plate and some words were exchanged as both benches emptied. Plate umpire Eric Cooper separated the players and the incident was over without any ejections.

"I don't mean to disrespect anybody," Gomez said. "The pitcher who's on the mound, he knows, he played with me we were team mates and he knows that I don't mean it to show him up, or something like that."

The incident overshadowed Houston's best showing in terms of runs since getting 16 in April 2013 at Seattle. Gomez's big night also helped the Astros get their largest margin of victory since an 18-4 victory at St Louis Aug. 3, 2010.

Besides Gomez, the Astros had other contributions as they scored more than six runs for the first time in 20 games and handed the Yankees their largest home loss since a 22-4 defeat in April 2009 against the Cleveland Indians.

The offense made for an easy night for Keuchel, who became the American League's first 15-game winner and extended his scoreless streak against the Yankees to 22 innings.

While the Astros cruised, it was a tough night for the Yankees, who lost for the fourth time in five games and were handed their worst loss of the season. They avoided a shutout when Greg Bird hit an RBI fielder's choice in the ninth.

(Compiled by John O'Brien)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.