YANKEES 4, ASTROS 1
at Kissimmee, Fla.
Wednesday, March 18

Astros at the plate: Jason Smith tripled and scored in the first inning on a Carlos Lee hit.

Yankees at the plate: The Yankees scored two runs off Doug Brocail in the seventh behind an RBI groundout from Melky Cabrera and a hit by Angel Berroa.

Astros on the mound: Mike Hampton threw five shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out two. He recorded seven ground-ball outs. Jose Valverde pitched one scoreless inning, walking one.

Yankees on the mound: Chien-Ming Wang yielded one run on three hits over five innings, striking out two. Phil Coke allowed one hit in one inning.

Grapefruit League records: Astros 1-15-3; Yankees 11-8-1

Up next: The Yankees will be at home under the lights at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, welcoming the Blue Jays for a 7:15 p.m. ET start. Right-hander A.J. Burnett will get the start for New York, facing Toronto for the first time since leaving as a free agent to sign a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Yankees. The Blue Jays will counter with right-hander Casey Janssen. The game will be shown on MLB.TV.

The Astros will travel to Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Thursday to play the Mets at 1:10 p.m. Wandy Rodriguez will make his second appearance since returning from a strained left side muscle. Hunter Pence is not expected to make the trip, as he is still recovering from a mild strain of his left calf after making an awkward slide into home plate on Tuesday in Lakeland, Fla.