The Yankees controlled the late innings and turned a competitive game into a 9-3 win over the Astros at Yankee Stadium. New York led 3-2 through six innings before a four-run seventh changed the shape of the night, followed by two more runs in the eighth. Luis Garcia Jr. powered the lineup with three hits, a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored, while Elmer Rodriguez gave the Yankees six steady innings.

Rodriguez held Houston to two runs across 6.0 innings and struck out six, keeping Astros hitters from sustaining pressure through the middle innings. Peter Lambert matched him for most of the afternoon, allowing New York to remain within reach after 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. Houston scored once in the first and once in the fourth, but the Yankees answered both times and carried a 3-2 advantage into the seventh.

The decisive inning belonged to New York's offense. The Yankees scored four times in the seventh and added two in the eighth, creating the six-run margin that ended Houston's comeback path. Garcia's home run and Ben Rice's home run supplied power, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. added three hits and an RBI; Cody Bellinger contributed two RBIs despite collecting one hit in five at-bats.

Houston received its clearest offensive production from Daulton Varsho, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, but the Astros did not match New York's depth after the sixth inning. Enyel De Los Santos struck out three in 1.2 relief innings, yet the Yankees' late scoring burst outweighed the bullpen's resistance.

The victory gives New York a 75-57 record and reinforces a lineup capable of separating from opponents once it gains a favorable matchup late. Houston drops to 66-67 and now needs more than isolated power from Varsho; the Astros must convert early opportunities into sustained pressure before games reach the bullpen. New York's combination of Rodriguez's six-inning start and a decisive seventh-inning attack was the difference, and it is the formula the Yankees will carry forward.