Soto, Judge and Stanton hit in 9-4 win over Astros

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto homered and drove in five runs, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep and the New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 9-4 on Wednesday night.

It was the first time the power trio connected in the same game for the Yankees, who won their fifth straight game and improved to 6-0 against the Astros this season.

“It certainly makes you smile when those three guys do that,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

Stanton launched a 119.9 mph rocket into the second deck, which was the hardest hit ball in the majors this year.

“We all know how capable we are and when you have nights like that, it’s awesome,” Soto said.

New York starter Carlos Rodón (3-2) bounced back from his worst outing of the season last week in Baltimore. He allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, earning a nice hand from the home crowd.

Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña scored for the Astros, who lost their fourth straight game and fell to 12-24.

Soto launched a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the first inning. He connected for a 440-foot drive on a fastball from Houston rookie Spencer Arrighetti (0-4), blasting his 10th homer on a commercial to the back of the Astros bullpen in the field center left.

“I feel like when I’m hitting the ball that way and I’m on my best trajectory and my swing is in the best place, that’s all I’ve asked for with all my training and everything.” , said Soto.

Judge lined a 404-foot shot to right center to open the third. Two batters later, Stanton’s 447-foot solo course stayed just inside the left field foul pole.

It was Stanton’s third hardest-hit homer since Statcast began tracking in 2015, and it came a night after he launched a 118.8 mph homer off Justin Verlander.

“I feel like the night before he got hit the hardest in baseball,” Judge said. “Then he outdid himself again tonight. Simply impressive.

Judge’s homer was part of his second three-hit game this season. He added a pair of doubles, including a two-run double that gave the Yankees an 8-1 lead in the sixth.

New York improved to 34-4 when Stanton and Judge homered in the same game, including the playoff.

Add in Soto’s drive and the trio hit a total of 1,291 feet of home runs.

New York beat the Astros for the ninth straight time dating back to last year. The season series concludes Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Since the start of last season, the Yankees are 11-2 against Houston, which eliminated them from the playoffs four times between 2015 and 2022, including in the AL Championship Series in 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Soto also hit RBI singles in the second and eighth, as well as a groundout in the sixth. He batted .538 (14-for-26) against the Astros in his first season with the Yankees and had his fourth career game with at least five RBIs.

“He’s always been difficult (to face),” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It doesn’t matter who pitches. Juan Soto is a great hitter.

Jake Meyers had an RBI triple and Jose Altuve had an RBI double in the ninth for Houston, which had 11 hits but went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Arrighetti allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.

Trainers’ room

Astros: RHP Cristian Javier (neck), who threw 3 1/3 innings Saturday in a rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi, pitched a bullpen ahead of his return to the rotation this weekend. RHP Jose Urquidy (right forearm) and OF Chas McCormick (right hamstring) are expected to begin their rehab assignments this weekend.

Yankees: RHP Tommy Kahnle (right shoulder) struck out two in one for Class A Tampa in his first minor league rehab appearance. Kahnle will appear in at least four more rehab games before possibly being activated. RHP Nick Burdi (right hip), who made his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, could be activated Friday.

Following

Houston RHP Ronel Blanco (3-0, 2.09 ERA) faces RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 3.41) in Thursday’s series finale.