HOUSTON (Interstat) — The New York Yankees rode a dominant start from left-hander Ryan Weathers and a balanced offensive attack to an 8-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday at Daikin Park.

The Yankees, who improved to 18-9, broke open a tight game with a three-run seventh inning and added two insurance runs in the ninth to complete their second straight win over the Astros. Houston fell to 10-18.

Weathers worked five and one-third innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out four. He departed with a two-run lead after the Yankees had taken a 2-1 advantage in the fifth inning. The outing continued a strong stretch for Weathers, who threw seven and one-third scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City on April 19. In his previous start before that, he took a loss against the Los Angeles Angels after allowing five earned runs in five innings.

The Astros struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Carlos Correa led off with a double and scored on a single by Isaac Paredes, giving Houston a 1-0 lead. New York answered in the third when Trent Grisham hit a solo home run to left-center, his fourth of the season, tying the game at 1.

The Yankees grabbed the lead for good in the fifth. Jose Caballero led off the inning with a solo home run to left-center, his third of the year, making it 2-1.

Houston pulled even in the bottom of the sixth when Correa hit a solo homer to left-center, his second of the season, tying the game at 2.

The pivotal moment came in the seventh inning. New York sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs to seize control. Austin Wells started the inning with a solo homer to right field, his second of the season, putting the Yankees ahead 3-2. Caballero followed with a single, and Grisham walked. Ben Rice singled to load the bases. Aaron Judge walked to force in a run, and Cody Bellinger walked to bring in another. Jazz Chisholm Jr. then walked to force in the third run of the inning, extending the lead to 5-2.

New York added a run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Rice, scoring Ryan McMahon, who had singled and advanced to third on a walk and a groundout.

The Yankees tacked on two more in the ninth. Bellinger led off with a walk, moved to third on a single by Amed Rosario and scored on a single by Wells. McMahon then singled to drive in Rosario, making it 8-2.

Correa answered in the bottom of the ninth with a leadoff double, but the Yankees’ bullpen held firm. Jake Bird, Camilo Doval and Fernando Cruz combined for two and two-thirds scoreless innings. Cruz, who earned the win after entering with two outs in the seventh, struck out two batters in his two-thirds of an inning. Bird and Doval each threw a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Cruz improved to 2-0 on the season.

Houston starter Mike Burrows took a no-decision after five innings in which he allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out eight. He issued two walks. Reliever Kai-Wei Teng took the loss, his first of the year, after allowing one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Teng fell to 1-1.

New York’s offense collected 12 hits, led by Caballero, who went 3 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Wells finished 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBI. Judge walked three times. The Astros had seven hits. Correa went 2 for 3 with a homer and an RBI. Paredes drove in the other Houston run.

The Yankees grounded into two double plays. New York pitchers combined for 18 strikes, 79 balls and 18 balls in play. Houston pitchers combined for 16 strikes, 44 balls and 16 balls in play.

The attendance was 38,399. The game time was 3:02.

New York has won four of its last five games overall. The Yankees swept a three-game series at Boston from April 21-23 and have won eight of their last 10. Houston has lost two in a row and four of its last five.

The two teams conclude their three-game series Sunday. New York then travels to Texas for a three-game set beginning Monday. Houston heads to Baltimore for a three-game series starting Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Yankees 7, Houston Astros 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 58.00 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 11 runs went under the over-under line of 9.