Trent Grisham’s clutch blast propels Yankees past Astros

After the pregame festivities, the Yankees grabbed a lead, predictably blew it in gut-wrenching fashion and then watched Trent Grisham blast the tie-breaking home run in a 5-4, exhale of a victory over the Astros in front of the 2000 Yankees and 45,738 in The Bronx. 

The Yankees (62-55) won for just a second time in eight games and can bounce back from a two-series losing streak with a rubber-game victory Sunday. 

After mostly Camilo Doval, partly rough defense and partly David Bednar coughed up a two-run edge in the top of the eighth, Grisham provided the needed swing in the bottom of the inning. 

The outfielder demolished a no-doubter against Bryan King and did not watch the ball land. Grisham remained in the batter’s box, stared into his dugout and began his trot as the ball sailed into the second deck. 

Bednar — asked again to record five outs — threw a scoreless ninth to seal a game that had teetered just a few minutes earlier. 

In the eighth inning, the seemingly daily Yankees collapse began. With Cam Smith on first, Doval fielded a one-out comebacker from Jesus Sanchez that should have ended the inning. But Doval’s errant throw to second pulled Anthony Volpe off the base, recording zero outs instead of two. 

The door swung open, the Astros took advantage. Jose Altuve reached out his bat and sent a single into left that Jasson Dominguez chased down and came up throwing. The strong throw probably did not have a chance to nab Smith, but Ryan McMahon did not cut the ball off — which may have surprised catcher Ben Rice, who then saw the ball travel right by him. The run scored, Sanchez advanced to third and Altuve to second. 

After Doval walked Carlos Correa to load the bases in a one-run game, Aaron Boone tried Bednar for a five-out save again, this time less effectively. 

Bednar got ahead of Christian Walker, 0-2, before throwing four straight balls to tie the game. The new closer bore down from there, though, striking out Yainer Diaz and Taylor Trammell to escape. 

A Yankees lineup that housed both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit Framber Valdez hard, managing four runs on eight hits and four walks in 5 ⅓ innings from the Astros star lefty. 

They struck in the first inning, when Paul Goldschmidt (single), Judge (walk) and Cody Bellinger (single) loaded the bases before Stanton walked to score the first run. Rice’s sacrifice fly gave the Yankees a lead that would last until the fourth, when Houston tied it up. 

The Yankees went ahead in the fifth, when Judge walked without seeing ball four, Valdez ticketed for a pitch-clock violation. Bellinger singled to put a pair on before Stanton hammered a ground ball into left-center for the go-ahead run. Rice followed by at least putting his bat on the ball, a double play adding an insurance run. 

Luis Gil served up a leadoff home run to Jeremy Peña on his fourth pitch of the game but settled in from there. 

He struck out the side in the third — three of his seven strikeouts — and allowed just one more run on a fourth-inning RBI single to right field from Carlos Correa. Giancarlo Stanton, making his season debut in the outfield, came up with a strong, one-hopped throw to the plate that was a split-second too late to nab Jesus Sanchez. 

Otherwise, Gil scattered six hits and walked one in 5 ⅓ inning in which he built up to 91 pitches and was able to steal an out in the sixth, with Boone attempting to coax as many outs as he could to save an overworked bullpen.