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HOUSTON -- New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi admitted he didnt know anything about Yangervis Solarte when he was signed to a minor league deal in January. The rookie is quickly teaching his manager all about himself. Solarte had three hits and an RBI in his first major league start and Derek Jeter drove in a run to give the New York Yankees their first win this season, 4-2 over the Houston Astros on Thursday night. "You have to give a lot of credit to our scouting department and front office for finding this kid because he gives us a lot of options being a switch-hitter and can play all over the infield," Girardi said. The 26-year-old Solarte has spent time in the minors with Minnesota and Texas, but never got called up until this season after hitting .429 this spring. "Ive worked very hard for this, and to be able to help the team, thats even better," Solarte said in Spanish through a translator. "These are the small things that are key." Solarte singled in a two-run third inning which put New York up 2-1. He doubled in the fifth and scored on a single by Jeter to push it to 3-1. Houston cut the lead to one in the bottom of that inning before Solarte came through again, this time with a single that drove in Ichiro Suzuki. Solarte, the third baseman, also had a nifty defensive play when he grabbed a bullet hit right at him by Jose Altuve in the eighth. Ivan Nova allowed six hits, two runs and walked five in 5 2-3 innings. He was helped by a defence which turned four double plays with him on the mound. "This could have been a game where he gave up a lot of runs without those double play balls," Girardi said. "He made big pitches when he had to." David Robertson, who took over as closer for Mariano Rivera, pitched a perfect ninth for his first save. Dexter Fowler continued to shine in his first season with the Astros, getting two singles to become the second player in franchise history -- and first since Ken Caminiti in 1987 -- to begin his Houston career with three straight multi-hit games. "We had our chances, especially early on there," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "I think we hit into four double plays in the first five innings. We had baserunners everywhere. It was probably one big hit away from getting some separation early in the game." Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer also went 5 2-3 innings, allowing five hits and three runs while fanning five. Suzuki doubled with two outs in the seventh before scoring on the RBI by Solarte. Solartes hit was a high pop-up which dropped right between three Astros players assembled directly in front of home plate. Solarte doubled with one out in the fifth and scored on a two-out single by Jeter to make it 3-1. Jeter was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. Houston got to 3-2 when Jonathan Villar doubled and scored on a single by Fowler in the bottom of the inning. The fourth double play by the Yankees got the first two outs before Chris Carter grounded out to end the inning. Oberholtzer retired the first seven batters he faced before running into trouble. Suzuki and Solarte hit consecutive singles before a third one by Brett Gardner scored Suzuki to tie it at 1-all. Jeter walked and Carlos Beltrans sacrifice fly scored Solarte to give New York a 2-1 lead. Fowler and Grossman hit back-to-back singles to start the first before Nova plunked Castro to load the bases. Altuve grounded into a forceout that left Castro out at second and scored Fowler to make it 1-0. Carter walked to load the bases again, but the Yankees turned a double play to limit the damage. The Yankees also used double plays to get out of the third and fourth innings. Castro was also hit by a pitch in the third inning to become the first Astro since Brad Ausmus on April 7, 2007, to be hit twice in a game. He remained in the game before being replaced by Carlos Corporan in the top of the sixth with a bruise on his right foot. X-rays were negative and he is day to day. NOTES: A replay was initiated by umpires on the field to check the count on an at-bat by Solarte with two outs in the ninth and it was confirmed it was a 3-1 count. ... Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to make his major league debut against right-hander Dustin McGowan when the Yankees open a three-game series at Toronto on Friday. ... Houston right-hander Lucas Harrell opposes left-hander Tyler Skaggs when the Astros begin a series with the Los Angeles Angels. ... The Astros observed a moment of silence before the game to remember the victims on Wednesdays shooting at Fort Hood, which left three dead and 16 wounded. Martin Hanzal Stars Jersey . 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Stephen Johns Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying.NEW YORK, N.Y. - While Madison Square Garden was buzzing Friday night, so was Kobe Bryants phone. Carmelo Anthony was on his way to a 62-point night, moving past Bryants total of 61 that had stood for nearly five years as the record in the building. And plenty of people wanted to make sure Bryant knew. "I got a lot of messages from people saying Melos going after your record tonight," Bryant said. "Its amazing. He went to work. He got hot and didnt cool off." Bryant wasnt able to play when the Lakers returned to the building on Sunday, still recovering from a broken left knee. He said he had called Anthony, his friend and teammate on the last two U.S. Olympic teams, on Friday night to congratulate him. Bryant said that having the arenas record wasnt particularly important to him, but did stress how much the building meant. "This is the Mecca of basketball. Theres so much history here in the culture of the game, what this building means. This is the last one left in terms of all the history," Bryant said, naming former Knicks such as Willis Reed and Walt Frazier. "This is the last building left that carries that history with it." Anthony will have to decide this summer iff he wants to keep playing in it.dddddddddddd He intends to become a free agent, and the Lakers are frequently mentioned as a potential destination if he decides to leave. "New Yorks a beautiful place, dont get me wrong," Bryant said. "Palm trees and beaches, obviously a little bit more appealing." If Anthony does decide to stay, Bryant hinted that he may need to make it clear to the Knicks that he wont stand for losing. Thats what Bryant did when the Lakers had fallen from championship contention to barely playoff contention from 2005-07. "I think from a psychological perspective, as a player you dont want to get too frustrated about things you cant control, you know what I mean? So you have to find that balance," Bryant said. "At the same time, its important for the organization to understand the level of competitiveness that you have, that you wont tolerate having a team thats not in contention for an NBA championship, which is what I did. You rub a lot of people the wrong way, but sometimes youve got to kick down a few doors and (tick) some people off and trust that itll pay off in the long run. And if youre willing to do that, more times than not youll be OK." ' ' '