Yankees look to rebound after blowing lead vs. Astros

Houston third baseman Isaac Paredes resumed baseball activities on Wednesday, running at half speed before fielding grounders prior to the Astros' 8-7 victory over the visiting New York Yankees.

Paredes missed his 42nd game with a right hamstring strain that initially appeared serious enough to cost him the remainder of this season. However, after extensive rehab, Paredes has shown enough progress to perhaps rejoin the Astros (77-63) before the regular season concludes.

"I felt very good," Paredes said. "I'm not 100 percent yet, but I felt very good, so I'm very happy about that.

"Right now we're taking it day to day, but hopefully I'll be back this season."

The Astros reacquired Carlos Correa at the trade deadline in part to offset the loss of Paredes, who was batting .259 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs before his injury. While the Astros remain unsure about Paredes' status moving forward, the sight of him on the field was a huge boost.

"He looked really good. He's really happy," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "(Wednesday) was a really good day for Paredes and for us."

Right-hander Cristian Javier (1-1, 3.38 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Astros on Thursday. He tossed six hitless innings with three walks and six strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday but did not factor into the decision of a 2-0 win. It marked just the fourth start of the season for Javier, who was sidelined the previous 14 months following Tommy John surgery.

Javier is 1-1 with a 1.99 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Yankees. In his most recent start against the Yankees, on March 29, 2024, Javier worked six scoreless innings and allowed four hits and one walk while striking out six in a no-decision.

Carlos Rodon (15-7, 3.18 ERA) will start the decisive game of the series for the Yankees. The left-hander allowed one run on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings to earn a 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Rodon, who is tied with teammate Max Fried for the American League in wins, has won four consecutive starts and is unbeaten over his past seven outings (5-0, 3.40 ERA). In his past 24 starts, Rodon is 14-4 with a 2.80 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 141 1/3 innings.

Rodon is 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 11 career starts against the Astros. He last opposed Houston on May 8, 2024, when he allowed two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks over 6 1/3 innings in a 9-4 home victory.

The Yankees (77-62) blew a 3-0 lead on Wednesday before nearly rallying from a four-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning, when Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer. It was a wild and emotionally charged affair that set the stage for a rubber match with a first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. local time on Thursday.

That qualifies as an unusually late start time for a getaway game. The Yankees are scheduled to host a crucial three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the first-place team in the AL East, beginning on Friday.

"I have some conversations sometimes, but you also understand it's the nature of the beast, and 162 games in 180 days, you're going to have some tough schedules," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "But it doesn't really matter. Nobody cares. We're at that point in the season, we're in the stretch drive, where we need to keep winning games."