Houston Astros at New York Yankees: Final Score & Recap

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros 9-3 on August 26, 2026, at Yankee Stadium, a result the DiamondIQ model's estimate anticipated with a 61 percent pre-game home win probability that ultimately climbed to 100 percent by the final out. New York controlled the contest from the outset, taking an early lead in the first inning and never surrendering it, while Houston managed just four hits and committed an error across nine innings against a Yankees lineup that produced 13 hits.

The decisive moment of the game arrived in the seventh inning, where the contest's two most impactful plays occurred in direct succession on either side of the half-inning break. Daulton Varsho opened the top of the seventh with a double off Paul Blackburn, adding 15.8 percent to Houston's win probability and momentarily tightening what had been a manageable deficit. However, Jeremy Peña's strikeout and Taylor Trammell's fielder's choice out — each off Blackburn — swung the window back toward New York by 12.3 and 11.7 percent respectively, stifling the Houston threat entirely. New York then responded with a four-run bottom of the seventh, punctuated by Cody Bellinger's double off Bennett Sousa that added 15.9 percent to the Yankees' win probability and effectively put the game away. Two additional runs in the eighth extended the final margin to six.

Varsho was the game's most impactful individual performer, finishing with a combined WPA of plus 31.1 percent and a RE24 of plus 1.6, including a fourth-inning home run off Elmer Rodríguez that had added 11.4 percent to Houston's probability at the time. Bellinger contributed plus 14.1 percent WPA and plus 1.7 RE24 for New York, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. led all batters with a RE24 of plus 2.3 to go with plus 11.3 percent WPA. On the mound, Elmer Rodríguez led Yankees pitchers with plus 6.6 percent WPA, followed by Peter Lambert at plus 5.6 percent.