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 punches 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.
“These are the [teams] we’re probably going to play in the playoffs and this is what we got to do,” Chisholm said. “We got to go out there and dominate, early, often and consistently.”
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.
“It was just a really good team win,” said Fried, who was nauseous but still able to limit the Astros across seven innings while fielding his position incredibly well. “I was happy to be able to eat some innings and keep some runs off the board. We wanted to come in tonight and start the series off right.”
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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. After posting a 6.80 ERA across an eight-start stretch through Aug. 16, the left-hander has given up just two runs across 20 innings in his past three starts combined.
Astros lefty Framber Valdez entered 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.
“I was just talking to myself on deck, knowing it was going to be a big situation,” Grisham said. “Really getting excited for that, getting really calm and really getting focused. Then just looking for a pitch I could handle.”
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 sixth home run in his past nine games, inching him closer to the 30-30 club with 28 home runs and 26 steals.
“My whole career I always thought I could be better than 30-30 every time if I stayed healthy,” Chisholm said. “Even though I didn’t really stay healthy this year, I’m still showing I can get there. So for me, it’s kind of sick.”
Fried took care of the rest, thanks in part to his slick fielding on a pair of bunts that snuffed out rallies.
The first two Astros reached in the bottom of the third when Jeremy Peña tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. But it went right to Fried, who threw to third to nail the lead runner. Two ground balls by Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve later, Fried was out of the inning unscathed.
“It helps win ballgames, and if I can do something to be the ninth defender out there, it definitely helps out myself and the team,” Fried said.
Then in the seventh inning of a 6-1 game, after each of the first two batters reached, Fried made a sliding grab on César Salazar’s bunt and fired to first for the double play. Two pitches later, Fried was out of the jam again and his outing was complete.
“He’s one of my favorites,” Grisham said. “I got to watch Manny [Machado] do it a long time, but I love watching the ease of the way [Fried] gets to certain balls and how he has a cannon and just lets it eat.”