"I wasn’t good enough" - Yankees' Marcus Stroman blames himself for putting team in 'bit of a hole' in series finale loss against Astros

The New York Yankees lost 4-3 to the Houston Astros on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. They missed their chance to sweep the series and it also ended their five-game winning streak.

Marcus Stroman gave up four runs in 5.2 innings, which became the Astros' winning runs.

Stroman’s poor outing overshadowed Anthony Volpe and Aaron Judge’s home run contributions. He now has a 3.80 ERA in 42.2 innings, giving up 21 runs, of which 18 are earned, in eight starts. However, the Yankee ace is well aware of his setback and blames no one but himself for it.

“Definitely a lot of adversity in there. I wasn’t good enough early on, just kind of put our team in a little bit of a hole," Stroman said (via New York Daily News). "Just gotta be better. Can’t let up three in the first. Just feel like I don’t give my team a chance when I do that.”

In the first inning, Stroman faced a home run rally by Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (solo homer) and Jon Singleton (two-run home run), giving Hoston a 3-0 lead. Volpe managed the situation with a two-run moon shot in the third inning, making the score 2-3 for the Yankees.

However, Jeremy Pena’s single in the fifth extended the Astros’ lead. Aaron Judge put up a last show with a solo homer at the eight, but no one followed him from there, resulting in the Yankees’ first loss of the season to the Astros.

Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo all had a bad day and failed to produce a single hit in their combined 18 at-bats.

Aaron Judge felt the game was close as the Yankees failed to sweep the Astros

The Yankees captain, Aaron Judge, made a single but flashy ending highlight in the eighth innings with his solo home run. That was his only hit of the night in four at-bats. However, he felt that that night could be theirs with more effort and luck on their side.

“It didn’t happen for us today, but it came down to the wire,” Judge said (per Gary Phillips).

However, that loss didn’t alter the overall position they’re in. The team has won two consecutive series and is still leading the league.

The Yankees have the most wins (25) in the AL East, closely contested by the Baltimore Orioles (24-12). They are hoping to regain momentum in their next road series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting today.