Yankees begin series against Astros

When and where to see

Tonight: Coverage of YES and the YES app begins at 6 p.m. on All Access with Meredith Marakovits.

Tomorrow: YES and the YES App will air the postgame show following the action on Prime, where coverage begins at 6:30 p.m

Thursday: Coverage on YES and the YES App begins at 4:30 p.m. with the pregame show.

The story of my number

A new show featuring some of your favorite Yankees greats is coming to YES and the YES app! Hosted by Gracie Cashman, The story of my number presented by the New York Lottery features pinstripe symbols that talk about their uniform numbers and other digits that mark important moments and achievements in their lives. The debut episode with Aaron Boone will have a special premiere on YES Thursday immediately following Yankees coverage. Thereafter, new episodes will be available on the YES app every Thursday. Upcoming issues will feature Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Don Mattingly, Nick Swisher and CC Sabathia.

Pinstripe Pulse

At 23:13, the Yankees are tied with Baltimore and Cleveland for the most wins in the American League. Anthony Rizzo is batting .333 with five home runs in his last 12 games. Aaron Judge has a .302 batting average and four home runs as of April 24. Giancarlo Stanton has scored at least one goal in 10 of his last 13 games. The Yankees’ bullpen has not been charged with any runs in the last six games, spanning 18 innings. Juan Soto leads the team with a .316 batting average and his .421 on-base percentage is the highest in the AL.

How about?

If it feels like Soto delivers every time he steps up to bat in a big spot, like he did with his game-winning three-run double on Sunday, that’s because he’s doing almost exactly that does! Amid his overall robust numbers, Soto is batting .440 with runners in scoring position, giving him the second-highest mark in the AL among players who have had at least 25 at-bats in those situations. The only player ahead of him is Kansas City’s Salvador Perez, who is batting .452 in 31 at-bats with RISP.

Know the enemy

At 12-22, the Astros are just half a game ahead of the last-place Angels in the AL West and seven games behind the division-leading Rangers. Pitching has been a significant problem for Houston, particularly in the injury-plagued starting lineup. With several key starters out, including Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy, the Astros are fourth-to-last in the majors with a 4.99 rotation ERA. Former AL MVP Jose Altuve is still in his 14th big league season and is batting .343 with seven home runs and seven stolen bases. Altuve reached 300 career steals on Friday against the Mariners. Jeremy Pena is batting .323 with three home runs and five steals. Yordan Alvarez has seven round-trippers, tied with Altuve for second on the team behind Kyle Tucker’s nine. Alex Bregman is struggling, batting just .202 with one home run. José Abreu is not with the team as he agreed to be optioned to the minors to work on his swing after batting .099 in his first 22 games of the season. Closer Josh Hader has allowed 10 earned runs in 14.2 innings (6.14 ERA).

Likely pitchers

Luis Gil will start tonight’s opener against former MVP and three-time AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. Carlos Rodón will face 24-year-old rookie Spencer Arrighetti tomorrow, who is winless in his first four MLB starts. Marcus Stroman is scheduled to work Thursday’s finale, while Houston is expected to counter with Ronel Blanco, author of a no-hitter in his season debut April 1 against the Blue Jays.