New York's lineup is still without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, both on the 60-day IL, and it showed. The Yankees managed just 5 hits and 1 run, and two errors behind Cole didn't help matters. Houston's own injury list is thinner in the middle of the order — Carlos Correa remains out at shortstop — but the offense found enough against Cole regardless, piling up 9 hits on the night.
It's the second win in three tries for Houston in this set, after the Astros had opened with a win before New York answered right back the next night. This one settles the series, and it's the kind of result the Astros needed — Houston came in having dropped 3 of its last 5, while the Yankees were rolling with 3 wins in their last 5 before this loss snapped that momentum.
Both rosters are dealing with real absences beyond the headline names. Houston is still waiting on Mike Burrows to work his way back from a rehab assignment, and Brice Matthews remains out in center. New York, meanwhile, is nursing along a battered pitching staff — Fernando Cruz was just diagnosed with a partial UCL tear, and Max Fried is eyeing a return from his own elbow issue. None of it changes what happened at Yankee Stadium: Houston's lineup did enough against a good pitcher, and that's usually the ballgame.