NEW YORK — Jorge Posada hit a
grand slam for the second straight day, Robinson Cano connected for his
100th career homer and the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep
of the Houston Astros with a 9-5 win Sunday.
Catching for the first time since
coming off the disabled list June 2, Posada connected for his ninth
grand slam in the fifth after the Astros walked the bases loaded with
two outs for the second inning in a row. Ramiro Pena, subbing for
injured Alex Rodriguez, followed the walks by Brian Moehler (0-3) in the
fourth with a two-run single to back Phil Hughes, who struggled when
the rain started in the sixth.
Posada walked in his first two plate
appearances before the fifth. As the designated hitter and batting
right-handed on Saturday, he hit his first grand slam since 2004. On
Sunday, Posada was batting from the left side when he faced reliever
Casey Daigle. Posada drove a 2-0 pitch to a similar spot in right-center
as his slam landed Saturday, giving New York a 7-1 lead.
The last Yankee to hit grand slams in
consecutive games was catcher Bill Dickey in 1937, according to STATS
LLC. The last player to do it in the big leagues was Mets center fielder
Carlos Beltran on July 16 and 18, 2006.
A steady drizzle started soon after
Posada's big hit and the Astros scored four times with two outs in the
sixth against Hughes (9-1). Tommy Manzella drove in two runs with a
single off shortstop Derek Jeter's glove to end a 10-pitch at-bat, and
Kevin Cash followed with a two-run shot that ended Hughes' day.
Hughes won his fourth straight start
but matched his season high for runs allowed, five. He walked two and
struck out six.
New York scored twice in the bottom
half on RBI singles by Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner for a 9-5 lead.
With the victory, the Yankees finished
12-4 during a stretch in which they played 13 of 16 games against teams
with winning percentages under .400.
Batting in A-Rod's No. 4 spot while
the third baseman rested his sore hip for the third consecutive day,
Cano connected for his 13th homer of the year with one out in the
fourth. That tied the score 1-all and helped the Yankees win their
eighth straight at home, matching their longest winning streak at the
second-year ballpark.
Michael Bourn led off the game with
an infield single to snap an 0-for-11 skid. After an out, Hunter Pence
walked. The pair took off on a double steal and Posada's attempted throw
to third hit Carlos Lee's bat and ricocheted to second base. Stunned,
Posada stood with his hands up and looked around for the ball. Lee then
hit a sacrifice fly.
With his parents watching from the
stands, Yankees right fielder Chad Huffman led off the third with an
infield single in his first big league at-bat. Huffman was called up
from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the game to replace Marcus
Thames, who went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right
hamstring.
Huffman reached base three times but
was thrown out at third in the fourth to end a rally. He popped out to
end the eighth after the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs for the
third time in the game without a hit — eight walks and a hit batter.
Astros pitchers walked 10 overall.
Moehler lost his sixth straight,
dating to Sept. 1. He gave up four runs on five walks and four hits in 4
2/3 innings.
Gustavo Chacin walked his only two
batters in relief of Moehler before Daigle entered. Posada greeted him
with New York's major league-leading sixth grand slam of the year.
NOTES: Pena made a diving catch of
Bourn's hot shot down the line while he was playing on the infield
grass. …Slumping 1B Lance Berkman was not in the Astros' starting
lineup. Sensing Berkman's frustration, manager Brad Mills wanted to give
the slugger two days off. Houston has an off day Monday. …The
Yankees haven't lost to Houston since June 2003, when five Astros
pitchers combined on a no-hitter. They are 8-1 against Houston overall.