Yankees and Gerrit Cole lose to Astros

Christian Walker had three hits, including a two-run homer off Gerrit Cole in the sixth inning, and Jeremy Pena added a solo shot to power the Houston Astros to a 5-1 victory over the Yankees on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees had scored at least seven runs in each of the previous three games, but they did little against their former prospect, Hayden Wesneski, whom they sent to the Cubs for reliever Scott Effross at the 2022 trade deadline.  Wesneski (4-1) allowed one run and three hits in five innings-plus.

Rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. became the first Yankees shortstop since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915 to commit an error in six straight games. He and Jose Caballero made errors on the same play as the Astros scored their final run in the eighth.

The Yankees (75-58) again were unable to go 19 games over .500. They fell four games behind the AL East-leading Rays and are two games ahead of the Red Sox, who will visit Yankee Stadium for a four-game series this weekend.

Yankees righthander Cam Schlittler (11-6, 2.16 ERA) will face Red Sox lefthander Patrick Sandoval (1-2, 4.54) on Friday night.

Houston (67-67) leads the AL West by one game over Texas.

Walker broke an 0-for-11 skid with a single in the second and homered on Cole’s 1-and-0 curveball for a 3-0 lead in the sixth. With two outs in the sixth, Cole got ahead of Daulton Varsho 0-and-2 but walked him, and Walker followed with his home run.

Walker doubled off Justin Topa in the eighth and scored when the Yankees committed two errors on one play.

Yainer Diaz's grounder caromed off Lombard’s glove for the rookie shortstop’s seventh error in 20 career games. The ball ricocheted to third baseman Caballero, who was charged with a throwing error for his wild toss to first as Walker scored Houston’s fifth run.

Pena was hit in the hand by a pitch from Cole and scored on Isaac Paredes' single before homering in the seventh off Yerry de los Santos.

Cole (7-7) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Ben Rice doubled, moved to third on Luis Garcia Jr.'s long fly to center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cody Bellinger off Steven Okert in the sixth. Lombard followed with a triple, but Spencer Jones fouled out to third.