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 Keuchel pitched his second shutout of the season and the third of
his career, tossing a six-hitter in the Houston Astros' 4-0 victory
over the New York Yankees on Thursday night at Minute Maid Park.
Keuchel (9-3) struck out a career-high 12 and issued his lone walk
with two outs in the ninth inning. He retired 15 consecutive batters
before Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez slapped a single to
center just prior to first baseman Mark Teixeira working a
four-pitch walk.
Following a mound visit from Astros manager A.J. Hinch, Keuchel
surrendered a single to right fielder Carlos Beltran that loaded the
bases, but he got left fielder Jose Pirela to ground into a
game-ending fielder's choice. With his final pitch, Keuchel set a
season high of 116.
"I told him finish the game, I want to go home," Hinch said. "I
think the game should be over and it was his game to finish. That's
exactly what I told him."
Keuchel matched his career high of 11 strikeouts by striking out the
side in the sixth, ending that frame with his third strikeout of
Rodriguez in as many plate appearances. Keuchel also struck out the
side in the first inning, and Rodriguez was the first player to
reach scoring position when Teixeira advanced him to second base
with his walk in the ninth.
"I got a few pitches early, but they weren't really aggressive early
pitch-wise," Keuchel said. "That led to an advantage for me then
later in the game. They started hacking. I was able to get all four
pitches over, and that was crucial for me."
Said Yankees shortstop Stephen Drew: "With that kind of guy, he's
their ace and we hit some balls hard right at people just no luck.
At the same time he's a great pitcher, he's got good movement and
working in and out of the zone. We got to him a little bit in the
ninth but it was too late."
The Astros (43-32) scored three runs off Yankees starter Adam Warren
(5-5) prior to designated hitter Evan Gattis adding an insurance
tally with an RBI double in the eighth that scored second baseman
Jose Altuve, who finished 3-for-4 with three runs and two stolen
bases.
Houston needed a two-out, opposite-field double from left fielder
Preston Tucker in the second to scratch across its first run off
Warren. Center fielder Colby Rasmus scored from first base for a 1-0
lead.
Altuve smacked the first of his two doubles to lead off the fourth,
reached third on a fielding error by Drew, and scored when Rasmus
delivered a one-out sacrifice fly to right field.
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Another defensive miscue cost the Yankees (39-34) in the sixth.
With Altuve on third base following a single, his first stolen base
of the game and a throwing error by catcher John Ryan Murphy, Gattis
delivered an RBI single to center that pushed the Astros' lead to
3-0.
Warren allowed only two earned runs on five hits and one walk with
four strikeouts before departing with two outs in the sixth inning.
"Again he pitched extremely well again tonight," Yankees manager Joe
Girardi said. "You know he's been consistent, really consistent for
us. It's too bad we didn't get him some runs."
NOTES: Astros 1B Chris Carter was not in the starting lineup for
just the fifth time this season. Carter, who was hit by a pitch in
the foot Tuesday, completed the Astros' eight-game road trip batting
.182 (6-for-33) with one home run and four RBIs. ... With Yankees
RHP Ivan Nova fresh off his season debut, manager Joe Girardi
addressed a pending decision on paring down his rotation. The
Yankees presently have six healthy starters, with Girardi noting
that a decision might come at the close of their current seven-game
road trip. The Yankees also have a pair of off days sandwiched
around their three-game home series against the Tampa Bay Rays in
early July. ... Astros RHP Scott Feldman threw off a bullpen mound
Thursday, and he continues to progress following surgery to repair a
torn right medial meniscus. Feldman has been on the disabled list
since May 27.
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