The Yankees Take Two Out of Three Against Their Rival Houston Astros
The New York Yankees faced off against the Houston Astros for the first time since Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS. The Yankees had been waiting an eternity to get revenge on the team that cheated them out of a World Series chance in 2017 and possibly 2019. The Yankee Stadium crowd was electric. The boos were outrageous as the Yankee fans heckled the Astros all game long. The playoff atmosphere had the Yankees and all their fans pumped for what was the biggest game of the year up to this point.
Domingo German got the start for the Yankees and he gave up a first inning solo shot to Alex Bregman. The Yankees did not wait to strike back as DJ LeMahieu got on to start the bottom of the first and Giancarlo Stanton blasted a two run shot to take the lead. Later that inning Clint Frazier grounded into a double play with the bases loaded that scored a run.
In the top of the fourth Michael Brantley hit a solo shot to make the score 3-2. Later that inning Yuli Gurriel doubled to tie the game up. German ended up pitching five innings while allowing three runs on four hits. Lucas Luetge came in after German and threw a shutout inning thanks to a spectacular double play from Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela. In the bottom of the sixth DJ LeMahieu came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. He hit a slow roller down the third baseline. Bregman bare handed it and tried to make an unbelievable play. Instead, the ball got past the first baseman and it scored three runs.
As Odor scored from first there was a collision at the plate which led to two injuries. Astros catcher Martin Maldonado had to leave the game as well as Odor had to leave the game. Giancarlo Stanton stepped up next and hit an RBI single to score LeMahieu. Jonathan Loasiga, Wandy Peralta, and Chad Green all threw shutout innings to seal the game. The Yankees picked up an awesome 7-3 win over the Stros.
The New York Yankees looked to take two in a row over the Houston Astros with Jordan Montgomery on the mound. It was a scoreless game in the bottom of the third when the scorching hot Giancarlo Stanton absolutely destroyed the baseball for a two run homer. In the next inning Jordan Montgomery gave up three runs to give the lead right back. In the bottom of the fifth with two outs and runners on first and second, the red hot Stanton came to the plate. He roped a double to left that tied the game.
Montgomery ended up pitching six innings with three earned runs on eight hits. He had yet another gritty start in which he gave his team a chance to win the game without his best stuff. That seems to be the theme of Montgomery’s starts so far this season. In the bottom of the eighth Aaron Hicks hit a bloop single to take the lead. That was followed by a Gardner sac fly and a Giancarlo Stanton RBI single. Aroldis Chapman came in the game for the ninth and he continued his dominance with the save. The Yankees picked up an electrifying 6-3 win over the Stros to take a 2-0 series lead.
The New York Yankees looked to complete the series sweep over the Houston Astros. Gerrit Cole got the start for the Yanks. The game was scoreless in the third when Giancarlo Stanton continued his dominance at the plate with a solo homer to take a 1-0 lead. In the fourth Jordan Alvarez blasted a solo shot off of Cole to tie the game.
In the bottom of the fourth Clint Frazier smoked a two run shot over the short porch to take a 3-1 lead. In the fifth Gio Urshela hit a ground ball up the middle for a base hit. He caught the defense sleeping as he hustled a single into a double because of nobody covering second base and the center fielder not hustling to the baseball. Gio’s double was wasted as the Yanks were not able to get him in to score. In the top of the seventh Gerrit Cole gave up another homer to Alvarez as the Yankees lead was cut to 3-2.
The seventh inning ended Cole’s outing as he pitched fantastic. It was an odd Cole performance considering he was cruising through the Astros lineup with the exception of Alvarez, but his strikeouts were significantly down. He only struck out four batters which is rare for Cole. Cole went seven innings allowing two runs on five hits. Chad Green came to pitch the eighth with a 3-2 lead. Yankees fans thought the game was in the bag considering how dominant the bullpen has been. This was not the case.
Chad Green gave up a three run home run to Jose Altuve to give up the lead. The Yankees now trailed 5-3. In the bottom of the eighth Gleyber Torres got a single. With Torres on first, Aaron Hicks hit a ground ball up the middle that was knocked down by Carlos Correa.
Torres advanced to second but because of the shift on Hicks nobody was covering third. Torres realized nobody was covering third and he advanced to third. Astros catcher Martin Maldonado saw Torres heading to third so he made his way to cover third base. Torres was there ahead of him, and now that Maldonado is at third nobody is covering home. Torres sees nobody is covering home and scores on the play. The heads up baserunning from Gleyber was absolutely amazing. The Yankees now trailed 5-4.
The Yanks were unable to score again that inning. In the top of the ninth Justin Wilson gave up a two run shot to Maldonado. The Astros now lead 7-4. This homer was an absolute backbreaker. The Yankees had momentum after Torres’s hustle play, and they had the red hot Stanton due up the next inning. If it was still a one run game the Yankees would have had a fantastic chance to tie the game.
The Yankees did not mount a comeback in the ninth as they dropped the final game of the three game set. This 7-4 loss was painful considering the Yankees easily should have won this game. The Yankees take two out of three against the Stros, but they have a bad taste in their mouth after they blew the chance at the sweep.
By: Riley Briggs