The Yankees take another hit as the Houston Astros are one win away from the World Series
The New York Yankees’ quest for No. 28 took another blow when they lost Saturday night’s ALCS Game 3 to the Houston Astros.
The Yankees had to score for the first time in a postseason game as they suffered the humiliating loss.
Some Yankees fans, already furious after two losses in Houston, booed star slugger Aaron Judge after two strikes and taunted manager Aaron Boone during the pregame introduction.
Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve (27) scores a base hit against the New York Yankees in the fifth inning of Game 3 of an American League Championship baseball series on Saturday, October 22, 2022 in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
The 106-win Astros, vying for their second straight AL pennant, improved to 6-0 this postseason. Close to reaching the World Series for the fourth time in six years, manager Dusty Baker’s team wants finish the series on Sunday night when Lance McCullers Jr. takes on Nestor Cortes.
Only once in major league history has a team come from a 3-0 deficit in the postseason, Boston versus the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Houston Astros Kyle Tucker (30) and Yuli Gurriel (10) are congratulated by Chas McCormick (20) after scoring against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning of Game 3 of an American League Championship baseball series on Saturday, October 22, 2022 have met in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Houston Astros’ Yuli Gurriel reacts as he slides safely home to score against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning of Game 3 of an American League Championship baseball series on Saturday, October 22, 2022 in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Christian Vázquez added a two-run single and Trey Mancini a victim fly as the Astros pursued Cole in the sixth inning and opened a five-run lead.
Javier threw seven innings during the Astros’ combined no-hitter on June 25 at Yankee Stadium and was almost as sharp this time. He didn’t allow a ball from infield until Giancarlo Stanton’s one-out double in the fourth – the only strike Javier allowed.
The 25-year-old right-hander made his first start since Oct. 1, pitching 5 1/3 innings, batting five and walking three.
10/22/2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) scores in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros in the third inning of the ALCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Héctor Neris, Ryan Stanek, Hunter Brown, Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu ended in goalless relief. The Yankees got a pair of two-out hits in the ninth.
New York, who last reached the World Series in 2009, is close to being eliminated by Houston for the fourth time in eight seasons. After sprinting to a 61-23 record in early July, the Yankees surged to a 38-40 mark the rest of the way and stuttered in the playoffs.
Judge, who set an AL record with 62 regular-season homers, went 0-4 and fell to .156 with 14 strikeouts and three RBIs in the postseason, including a 1-for-12 against the Astros.
The Yankees bat .128 in the ALCS with 41 strikeouts and have lost eight of 10 to Houston this year, throwing just 13 pitches by a margin.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 22: New York Yankees’ Harrison Bader #22 and Aaron Judge #99 are unable to fly a hit by Houston Astros’ Christian Vazquez #9 (not pictured) during the second inning of the game Catch ball three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 22, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Gold Glove midfielder Harrison Bader made a costly mistake in the second inning and was caught by Vázquez on a second steal after a leadoff walk in the fifth.
As Bader was about to catch Vázquez’s two-out fly to right center, Judge sliced in front of Bader and the ball popped out of the midfielder’s green glove. Vázquez, thinking he was out, had already started cutting the infield grass toward Houston’s dugout on the third base side, then retired to first.
McCormick, the No. 9 hitter, hit a fastball 335 feet to opposite field, and the ball hit the short right field porch and bounced the seats for his second home run of the series. According to Statcast, the drive would not have been a homer at any other major league ballpark.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 22: Ryne Stanek #45 of the Houston Astros reacts after taping the final match against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning in game three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 22, 2022 in NYC. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Astro’s teammates celebrated in the dugout with the chas chomp — over-the-top clapping with arms wide apart. The gesture appears to have been initiated by Astros fan Scott Agruso, who attends games at Minute Maid Park in an alligator suit.
Cole, baseball’s highest-paid pitcher on a nine-year, $324 million contract, allowed a home run for the eleventh consecutive time. He was walking off the stone-faced hill when Boone removed him in the sixth.
Alex Bregman doubled the lead, Kyle Tucker walked, and Yuli Gurriel blooped a single over the right field line.
Lou Trivino was relieved and Trey Mancini made it 3-0 in his first start of the series with a sacrificial fly that put all three runners forward. Vázquez lined the next pitch to the left, Trivino’s second straight pusher, riding in two more runs.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 22: Kyle Tucker #30 of the Houston Astros reacts after fouling a ball in his knee while he was shot from Jose Trevino #39 of the New York Yankees during the sixth inning in American League game three Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 22, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Bull/Getty Images)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/mlb/article-11344891/The-Yankees-suffer-blow-Houston-Astros-one-win-away-World-Series.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 The Yankees take another hit as the Houston Astros are one win away from the World Series
