Stanton hits hardest HR clocked by Statcast, Yanks top Texas
NEW YORK (AP) _ Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball’s Statcast system, Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.
Stanton’s 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.
J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.
Hicks kicked off New York’s homer barrage after a questionable decision from Texas manager Jeff Banister.
Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, but Banister ordered an intentional walk to Didi Gregorius. Hicks followed with a shot to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Haap struck out the side in the first after hitting Shin-Soo Choo to start the first of a four-game series against Texas. The 35-year-old retired the next five before once again nailing Choo with a pitch in the third before Rougned Odor flew out to end the inning.
Jurickson Profar hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, and Choo added a two-run double in the fifth to make it 5-3.
Stanton hit his lined shot out to left in the fifth inning, and Walker’s home run in the sixth made it 7-3.
All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting a fielder’s choice from pinch-hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa and striking out Choo and Odor.
BRINGING THEM IN
Hicks’ two-run homer gave him a career-high 53 RBIs.
SWITCH IT UP
Walker homered from both sides of the plate for the first time in his career. It was his sixth multihomer game of his career, last on May 26, 2017 at Pittsburgh while with the New York Mets.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: OF Delino DeShields Jr. is still dealing with concussion symptoms and the team is still unsure whether he will be activated as early as Friday. DeShields banged his head against a wall about four weeks ago and went on the 7-day concussion list last Saturday, a day after he was taken out of the lineup due to headaches.
Yankees: C Gary Sanchez (groin) was schedule to do some running at the team’s facility in Tampa. He’s been on the disabled list since July 24 and is expected to rejoin the team at home this weekend for further evaluations. … RHP Chance Adams was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Wednesday night’s game in Chicago to make room for Haap.
UP NEXT
New York RHP Masahiro Tanaka (9-2, 3.76 ERA) starts opposite LHP Mike Minor (8-6, 4.53) in the second game of the series. In five starts against Texas, Tanaka is just 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA.
M’s jump on Verlander early in 8-6 win over Astros
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) _ Mitch Haniger homered while Seattle jumped on Justin Verlander for six runs in two innings, and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 8-6 on Thursday night.
Haniger, Denard Span and Jean Segura combined for 10 hits and seven RBIs with a homer each off Verlander.
Verlander (11-7) was ejected for arguing a balk call after setting a season high for runs allowed. He failed hard in his bid for his 200th career victory.
James Paxton (10-5) continued his success against the Astros, yielding seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings to improve to 4-0 against them this season. Edwin Diaz allowed a home run to Tyler White with two outs in the ninth before striking out Josh Reddick for his 43rd save.
Haniger had a season-high four hits with two RBIs, Span had three RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle and Segura added three hits and drove in two runs.
Haniger gave the Mariners their first leadoff homer this season when he sent a fastball from Verlander into left-center field. Span followed with his second career triple off Verlander before Segura hit a ground-rule double and Nelson Cruz added an RBI single to make it 3-0.
Verlander retired the next five batters before Haniger doubled with two outs in the second. He looked to have been picked off at second with Span batting, but Verlander was instead called for a balk.
Verlander barked at home plate umpire Nic Lentz and kept repeating: “I did not,” before throwing his next pitch. Span and Segura then hit back-to-back homers to push the lead to 6-0. Verlander retired Cruz before getting tossed.
Verlander has been up and down in his last few starts and has allowed 10 homers and 15 runs the last five times out, including a season-high four homers in a loss to Detroit on July 15.
The Astros cut the lead to 6-2 in the third inning when Marwin Gonzalez drove in two with a single.
An RBI single by Haniger and a sacrifice fly by Span extended Seattle’s advantage to 8-2 in the sixth.
Tony Kemp had three hits and drove in two runs with a single in the sixth, and White’s RBI double cut the lead to 8-5 in the seventh.
The Astros were forced to use five relievers to finish the game. Roberto Osuna made his home debut for the Astros in the ninth inning, allowing one hit in a scoreless frame after being acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays last week. Osuna made his first appearance since May 6 on Monday after serving a 75-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. The former Blue Jays closer was arrested and charged with assaulting his girlfriend May 8 in Toronto.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: SS Carlos Correa said he’s feeling good and expects to come off the disabled list Friday. He hasn’t played since June 25 because of a sore lower back and just finished a five-game rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi. … 2B Jose Altuve, who hasn’t played since July 25 because of soreness in his right knee, is improving, but there is still no set date for his return.
UP NEXT
Houston’s Gerrit Cole (10-4, 2.64 ERA) opposes Seattle’s Mike Leake (8-7, 4.16) when the series continues Friday night. Cole lost his second straight start Sunday when he allowed six hits and three runs in five innings of a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers. Leake is looking for his first win since June 23 after going 0-3 in his last seven starts.