Astros rookie righthander Vince Velasquez took a tremendous step forward Friday night with the best start of his brief major league career.
In his first start since needing 93 pitches in 3 1/3 innings against the Mariners, Velasquez threw only 89 pitches, 59 for strikes, in 6 1/3 innings. He had never gone more than five innings in his previous three big league starts.
Chris Young’s three-run home run off Will Harris in the seventh inning gave the Yankees a 3-2 victory, so Velasquez settled for a no-decision after giving up five hits and two runs with one walk and two strikeouts over a career-high 6 1/3 innings.