Justin Verlander began his second stint with the Houston Astros by pitching seven solid innings, but he gave up a go-ahead homer to Jake Bauers that sent the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory Saturday.
Gleyber Torres also went deep for New York, and Nestor Cortes struck out a season-high eight over four innings during an encouraging return to the mound following two months on the injured list.
Verlander (6-6) allowed two runs and seven hits, losing a regular-season start to the Yankees for the first time since June 2015 with Detroit. He struck out four, walked two and fell to 10-8 against New York in the regular season.