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HOUSTON — Round 1 goes to the Yankees.
There are still 11 rounds to go in this heavyweight bout, but the Yankees got it started just about as well as they could have Tuesday night.
Max Fried turned in an ace-like effort with seven strong innings and got some knockout blows from Trent Grisham (grand slam) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (two home runs) to send the Yankees to a 7-1 win over the Astros at Daikin Park.
The win kicked off a crucial 12-game stretch against four fellow playoff contenders — this series followed by ones against the Blue Jays, Tigers and Red Sox — in style as the Yankees (77-61) remained 2 ¹/₂ games back of the Blue Jays for the division lead and in a virtual tie with the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.
The Yankees have won eight of their past nine games, and while seven of those wins came against two of the worst teams in the league, knocking off the Astros (76-63) in the series opener marked a step up in weight class.
Fried, who struggled for much of July and August, looked more like his first-half self for the third straight start in another encouraging sign. The left-hander scattered four hits and three walks while giving up just one run, fielding his position incredibly well to help shut down two separate threats.
Astros lefty Framber Valdez came into the night having allowed just one home run to a left-handed hitter all season, but both Chisholm and Grisham took him deep across five innings.
Grisham delivered the big swing yet again, drilling a grand slam in the fifth inning to make it a 6-0 game. It marked Grisham’s second grand slam in his past four games — after hitting one on Friday in Chicago to break open a one-run game — and third of the season. It also marked his 29th home run in what has become a breakout year, and then some, for the pending free agent who was originally viewed as a throw-in to the Juan Soto trade.
The Yankees set the stage for the big blow in the fifth inning by loading the bases on a walk from Paul Goldschmidt and singles by Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. Still, Valdez was one out from escaping the inning before Grisham went the other way on a sinker down the middle and lofted it into the Crawford Boxes.
Chisholm had put the Yankees ahead early by crushing a two-run shot off Valdez in the second inning. He added some insurance in the eighth inning, smoking a solo shot off another lefty, Steven Okert, to extend the Yankees lead to 7-1. It marked Chisholm’s 28th home run of the year and sixth in his past nine games.
Fried did not encounter much trouble across seven innings, but when he did, he was bailed out by a pair of bunts that snuffed out rallies, thanks in part to his terrific fielding.
In the third inning of a 2-0 game, which he began by walking a batter and hitting another, leadoff man Jeremy Peña tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. But it went right to the slick-fielding Fried, who fired to third to nail the lead runner. Two ground balls by Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve later, Fried was out of the inning unscathed.
Then in the seventh inning of a 6-1 game, after each of the first two batters reached, César Salazar popped up a bunt attempt. Fried got off the mound to make a sliding grab on it, then threw to first for the double play. Two pitches later, Fried was out of the inning and done for the night after seven strong innings.
After posting a 6.80 ERA across an eight-start stretch through Aug. 16, Fried has given up just two runs across 20 innings in his past three starts combined.
