Yankees Use Small Ball to Beat Astros

Hiroki Kuroda settled in after a rocky start to pitch four-hit ball through seven innings, Travis Hafner had three RBI singles and the New York Yankees used small ball to beat the Houston Astros 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Jayson Nix had an RBI infield single and Brennan Boesch a run-scoring fielder's choice for the banged-up Bronx Bombers, who bounced back from a 9-1 loss to the Astros on Monday. New York took advantage of Phil Humber's four wild pitches and a couple of close calls at first base to score its first four runs without an extra-base hit.

Kuroda (4-1) threw 67 pitches in the first three innings, putting at least two runners on in each one. But just as he did in his previous start, he got into a better rhythm and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.

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