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Devin Williams endured another rough outing on Friday night, giving up a go-ahead single to Carlos Correa in the 10th inning and a two-run homer to Taylor Trammell in the New York Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Houston Astros. After the game, Williams didn't hold back, admitting,
“I'm not making pitches. It's pretty simple. I stink right now,” he said.
The Yankees tied the game 2-2 in the sixth inning. In the 10th, the automatic runner advanced to third on a wild pitch from Williams and was immediately driven in by Correa. Moments later, Trammell's homer extended Houston's lead to 5-2. Anthony Volpe added an RBI single in the bottom half, but it wasn't enough to avoid New York's sixth loss in its last seven games.
Williams is going through one of the most challenging stretches of his career, posting a 5.73 ERA in his first season with the Yankees. Manager Aaron Boone has removed him from the closer role for the second time this year, yet he still turned to him in a tie game on Friday. Boone explained that he wanted to avoid using David Bednar, Mark Leiter Jr., and Luke Weaver due to their recent workloads, acknowledging that Williams “is struggling” but stressing, “You gotta use your guys.”
Cam Schlittler overcame a shaky first inning, in which José Altuve hit a two-run homer, to hold Houston to those two runs over five innings despite allowing seven hits. The Yankees also got help from Cody Bellinger, who threw out Trammell at the plate in the fourth to keep the game close. Still, Houston's bullpen, led by Josh Hader's scoreless ninth inning, closed the door in extras, securing the Astros' third win in their last four games and trimming the Yankees' lead for the final American League Wild Card spot to just half a game.
