NEW YORK -- Starlin Castro looks perfectly comfortable in pinstripes.
The Yankees' new second baseman homered and drove in five runs, Mark Teixeira had four RBI and New York trounced the Houston Astros 16-6 for its first victory of the season Wednesday night.
In his first two games with New York, Castro has a record seven RBI. The previous Yankees mark for RBI in a player's first two games with the team was set by Todd Greene, who knocked in six runs in 2001, according to STATS.
"Starlin Castro is playing T-ball right now," teammate Carlos Beltran said. "It's good to see him swinging the bat like that. He's a big key."
Teixeira and Castro each hit a three-run homer. Beltran also went deep and Castro finished with four of the 17 hits for the Yankees, who chased Collin McHugh (0-1) in a six-run bottom of the first inning that lasted 36 minutes.
Castro was obtained in an offseason trade with the Chicago Cubs, where the three-time All-Star had an up-and-down tenure and was moved from shortstop to second base last year to make room for rookie Addison Russell.
"I just want to be the player that I used to be, to show everybody that I can be the player that I am," said Castro, who set a major league record with six RBI in his big league debut for the Cubs in May 2010 against Cincinnati.
"It's a good opportunity for me to be in this organization," he added. "I don't really feel pressure either way, but I think here it's less."
Carlos Correa went 4 for 5 with two home runs and George Springer had his first career grand slam for Houston, a 5-3 winner Tuesday in the frigid opener (36 degrees at game time). This one started with the temperature at 43 degrees and took 3 hours, 45 minutes to complete.
New York's bats were hot all night, though.
Brian McCann had a two-run double in the first, Brett Gardner walked a career-high four times and pinch-hitter Ronald Torreyes hit a two-run triple in his first at-bat with the Yankees.
Castro followed with a run-scoring single to make it 16-6 in the seventh.
"Nice pace that he's on," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We felt that he would be big in our lineup, that he gave us a lot better balance than we've had."
Michael Pineda (1-0) benefited from the offensive outburst, taking home a win despite allowing six runs and eight hits -- including three homers -- in five innings.
Ivan Nova, beaten out by CC Sabathia for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, finished with four scoreless innings on a windy night for his first major league save. It was his first relief appearance since June 2013.
"He did a really good job," Girardi said. "It was tough conditions for pitchers tonight."
McHugh, a 19-game winner last season, managed to get only one out in the shortest start of his career. He beat Pineda twice last year and entered with a 1.88 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 14 1/3 innings in two starts against the Yankees.
"It's about as bad as you can draw it up," McHugh said.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
New York mustered only eight runs in its previous six games against Houston, including a 3-0 loss in the AL wild-card game last October.
"This is what we're capable of," Teixeira said. "When you have the entire lineup that's clicking, you're going to have a couple nights like this."
It was the most runs the Astros had allowed since giving up 16 to Texas on Aug. 19, 2013.
"Every scoring opportunity had something to do with a walk. We didn't challenge the strike zone enough," manager A.J. Hinch said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros RHP Lance McCullers (shoulder) threw about 30 pitches in a simulated game at extended spring training, Hinch said. The team will decide whether the next step for McCullers early next week is a similar session or a minor league rehab assignment. ... DH Evan Gattis, recovering from sports hernia surgery, is expected to get three or four at-bats as the designated hitter Thursday for Double-A Corpus Christi, Hinch said.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Mike Fiers starts the series finale Thursday afternoon, weather permitting. Steady rain is in the forecast for much of the day, after Monday's scheduled opener was pushed back to Tuesday because of inclement weather. Fiers was 7-10 with a 3.69 ERA for Milwaukee and Houston last season, including a no-hitter.
Yankees: RHP Nathan Eovaldi begins his second season with New York. The hard-throwing Eovaldi was 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA last year but did not pitch after Sept. 5 due to elbow inflammation. "My arm is 100 percent," he said Wednesday.
The Yankees' new second baseman homered and drove in five runs, Mark Teixeira had four RBI and New York trounced the Houston Astros 16-6 for its first victory of the season Wednesday night.
In his first two games with New York, Castro has a record seven RBI. The previous Yankees mark for RBI in a player's first two games with the team was set by Todd Greene, who knocked in six runs in 2001, according to STATS.
"Starlin Castro is playing T-ball right now," teammate Carlos Beltran said. "It's good to see him swinging the bat like that. He's a big key."
Teixeira and Castro each hit a three-run homer. Beltran also went deep and Castro finished with four of the 17 hits for the Yankees, who chased Collin McHugh (0-1) in a six-run bottom of the first inning that lasted 36 minutes.
Castro was obtained in an offseason trade with the Chicago Cubs, where the three-time All-Star had an up-and-down tenure and was moved from shortstop to second base last year to make room for rookie Addison Russell.
"I just want to be the player that I used to be, to show everybody that I can be the player that I am," said Castro, who set a major league record with six RBI in his big league debut for the Cubs in May 2010 against Cincinnati.
"It's a good opportunity for me to be in this organization," he added. "I don't really feel pressure either way, but I think here it's less."
Carlos Correa went 4 for 5 with two home runs and George Springer had his first career grand slam for Houston, a 5-3 winner Tuesday in the frigid opener (36 degrees at game time). This one started with the temperature at 43 degrees and took 3 hours, 45 minutes to complete.
New York's bats were hot all night, though.
Brian McCann had a two-run double in the first, Brett Gardner walked a career-high four times and pinch-hitter Ronald Torreyes hit a two-run triple in his first at-bat with the Yankees.
Castro followed with a run-scoring single to make it 16-6 in the seventh.
"Nice pace that he's on," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We felt that he would be big in our lineup, that he gave us a lot better balance than we've had."
Michael Pineda (1-0) benefited from the offensive outburst, taking home a win despite allowing six runs and eight hits -- including three homers -- in five innings.
Ivan Nova, beaten out by CC Sabathia for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, finished with four scoreless innings on a windy night for his first major league save. It was his first relief appearance since June 2013.
"He did a really good job," Girardi said. "It was tough conditions for pitchers tonight."
McHugh, a 19-game winner last season, managed to get only one out in the shortest start of his career. He beat Pineda twice last year and entered with a 1.88 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 14 1/3 innings in two starts against the Yankees.
"It's about as bad as you can draw it up," McHugh said.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
New York mustered only eight runs in its previous six games against Houston, including a 3-0 loss in the AL wild-card game last October.
"This is what we're capable of," Teixeira said. "When you have the entire lineup that's clicking, you're going to have a couple nights like this."
It was the most runs the Astros had allowed since giving up 16 to Texas on Aug. 19, 2013.
"Every scoring opportunity had something to do with a walk. We didn't challenge the strike zone enough," manager A.J. Hinch said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros RHP Lance McCullers (shoulder) threw about 30 pitches in a simulated game at extended spring training, Hinch said. The team will decide whether the next step for McCullers early next week is a similar session or a minor league rehab assignment. ... DH Evan Gattis, recovering from sports hernia surgery, is expected to get three or four at-bats as the designated hitter Thursday for Double-A Corpus Christi, Hinch said.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Mike Fiers starts the series finale Thursday afternoon, weather permitting. Steady rain is in the forecast for much of the day, after Monday's scheduled opener was pushed back to Tuesday because of inclement weather. Fiers was 7-10 with a 3.69 ERA for Milwaukee and Houston last season, including a no-hitter.
Yankees: RHP Nathan Eovaldi begins his second season with New York. The hard-throwing Eovaldi was 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA last year but did not pitch after Sept. 5 due to elbow inflammation. "My arm is 100 percent," he said Wednesday.
7:05PM,EDT,April 6,2016
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Houston - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Altuve flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Springer grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Correa homered to left (386 feet). | 1 | 0 |
| Rasmus doubled to right. | 1 | 0 |
| Gómez struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Collin McHugh pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Ellsbury reached first base on catcher's interference. | 1 | 0 |
| Gardner walked, Ellsbury to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Rodriguez walked, Ellsbury to third, Gardner to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Teixeira singled to right, Ellsbury scored, Gardner to third, Rodriguez to second. | 1 | 1 |
| McCann doubled to right, Gardner and Rodriguez scored, Teixeira to third. | 1 | 3 |
| Beltrán grounded out to first, Teixeira scored, McCann to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Headley singled to center, McCann scored. | 1 | 5 |
| Feliz relieved McHugh. | 1 | 5 |
| Headley stole second. | 1 | 5 |
| Castro singled to center, Headley scored. | 1 | 6 |
| Gregorius singled to right, Castro to third. | 1 | 6 |
| Ellsbury lined out to shortstop. | 1 | 6 |
| Gardner walked, Gregorius to second. | 1 | 6 |
| Rodriguez flied out to right. | 1 | 6 |
| 6 Runs, 5 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Valbuena singled to left. | 1 | 6 |
| White struck out swinging. | 1 | 6 |
| Tucker doubled to right, Valbuena to third. | 1 | 6 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 1 | 6 |
| Altuve hit by pitch. | 1 | 6 |
| Springer homered to left center (417 feet), Valbuena, Tucker and Altuve scored. | 5 | 6 |
| Correa singled to right. | 5 | 6 |
| Rasmus flied out to center. | 5 | 6 |
| 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Feliz pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Teixeira struck out looking. | 5 | 6 |
| McCann walked. | 5 | 6 |
| Beltrán singled to right center, McCann to second. | 5 | 6 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 5 | 6 |
| Castro homered to left center (428 feet), McCann and Beltrán scored. | 5 | 9 |
| Gregorius popped out to shortstop. | 5 | 9 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Gómez bunt grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 9 |
| Valbuena grounded out to third. | 5 | 9 |
| White doubled to deep right. | 5 | 9 |
| Tucker grounded out to second. | 5 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Feliz pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Ellsbury singled to right center. | 5 | 9 |
| Ellsbury stole second. | 5 | 9 |
| Gardner walked. | 5 | 9 |
| Rodriguez struck out looking. | 5 | 9 |
| Teixeira homered to right (365 feet), Ellsbury and Gardner scored. | 5 | 12 |
| McCann flied out to center. | 5 | 12 |
| Beltrán struck out swinging. | 5 | 12 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 5 | 12 |
| Altuve flied out to center. | 5 | 12 |
| Springer flied out to right. | 5 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Feliz pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Headley grounded out to first. | 5 | 12 |
| Castro grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 12 |
| Gregorius singled to center. | 5 | 12 |
| Ellsbury grounded into fielder's choice to second, Gregorius out at second. | 5 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Correa homered to center (459 feet). | 6 | 12 |
| Rasmus grounded out to second. | 6 | 12 |
| Gómez lined out to third. | 6 | 12 |
| Valbuena struck out swinging. | 6 | 12 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Michael Feliz pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Gardner grounded out to second. | 6 | 12 |
| Rodriguez walked. | 6 | 12 |
| Teixeira grounded into fielder's choice to second, Rodriguez out at second. | 6 | 12 |
| Sipp relieved Feliz. | 6 | 12 |
| McCann flied out to left. | 6 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Nova relieved Pineda. | 6 | 12 |
| White singled to center. | 6 | 12 |
| Tucker grounded into fielder's choice to second, White out at second. | 6 | 12 |
| Castro struck out swinging. | 6 | 12 |
| Altuve singled to center, Tucker to second. | 6 | 12 |
| Springer grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Altuve out at second. | 6 | 12 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Tony Sipp pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Beltrán homered to left (367 feet). | 6 | 13 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 6 | 13 |
| Castro doubled to deep center. | 6 | 13 |
| Gregorius reached on infield single to pitcher, Castro to third. | 6 | 13 |
| Ellsbury struck out swinging. | 6 | 13 |
| Gardner walked, Gregorius to second. | 6 | 13 |
| Fields relieved Sipp. | 6 | 13 |
| Rodriguez struck out swinging. | 6 | 13 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Hicks in right field. | 6 | 13 |
| Correa singled to center. | 6 | 13 |
| Rasmus singled to right, Correa to second. | 6 | 13 |
| Gómez grounded into double play, third to first, Correa out at third, Rasmus to second. | 6 | 13 |
| Valbuena struck out swinging. | 6 | 13 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Josh Fields pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Marisnick in left field. | 6 | 13 |
| González at second base. | 6 | 13 |
| Duffy at third base. | 6 | 13 |
| Ackley hit for Teixeira. | 6 | 13 |
| Ackley flied out to right. | 6 | 13 |
| McCann singled to center. | 6 | 13 |
| Hicks singled to right, McCann to second. | 6 | 13 |
| Torreyes hit for Headley. | 6 | 13 |
| Torreyes tripled to deep right center, McCann and Hicks scored. | 6 | 15 |
| Castro singled to right, Torreyes scored. | 6 | 16 |
| Gregorius grounded into fielder's choice to third, Castro out at second. | 6 | 16 |
| Ellsbury grounded out to first. | 6 | 16 |
| 3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Ackley at first base. | 6 | 16 |
| Torreyes at third base. | 6 | 16 |
| White grounded out to third. | 6 | 16 |
| Kratz hit for Tucker. | 6 | 16 |
| Kratz struck out swinging. | 6 | 16 |
| Castro grounded out to pitcher. | 6 | 16 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Pat Neshek pitching for Houston | HOU | NYY |
| Neshek relieved Fields. | 6 | 16 |
| Gardner lined out to center. | 6 | 16 |
| Romine hit for Rodriguez. | 6 | 16 |
| Romine flied out to right. | 6 | 16 |
| Ackley grounded out to first. | 6 | 16 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Ivan Nova pitching for New York | HOU | NYY |
| Romine catching. | 6 | 16 |
| Ackley at second base. | 6 | 16 |
| McCann at first base. | 6 | 16 |
| Duffy struck out swinging. | 6 | 16 |
| Springer walked. | 6 | 16 |
| Springer to second on wild pitch by Nova. | 6 | 16 |
| Correa struck out swinging. | 6 | 16 |
| Marisnick grounded out to third. | 6 | 16 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston Astros | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Altuve 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .286 | .444 | .429 |
Duffy 3B
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Springer RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 19 | .222 | .300 | .556 |
| Correa SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .556 | .556 | 1.556 |
| Rasmus LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .333 | .500 | .500 |
Marisnick LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Gómez CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Valbuena 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .250 | .250 | .250 |
González 2B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| White 1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .600 | .667 | .800 |
| Tucker DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .400 | .400 | .800 |
a-Kratz PH-DH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Castro C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 38 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 143 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for P Tucker in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Rasmus (1, Pineda); Tucker (2, Pineda); White (1, Pineda) HR: Correa 2 (3, 1st inning off Pineda 0 on, 2 Out; 5th inning off Pineda 0 on, 0 Out); Springer (1, 2nd inning off Pineda 3 on, 2 Out) RBI: Correa 2 (4), Springer 4 (4) 2-out RBI: Correa, Springer 4 GIDP: Gómez Astros RISP: 1-9 (Springer 1-2, Correa 0-1, Tucker 0-1, Valbuena 0-1, Gómez 0-2, Castro 0-1, Marisnick 0-1) Team LOB: 7 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Castro (1, catcher's interference) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 37,493 (75.5% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:45 |
| Weather | 43 degrees, cloudy |
| Wind | 11 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Greg Gibson, First Base - Ed Hickox, Second Base - Mike Estabrook, Third Base - Dana DeMuth |
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