New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson. Photo by Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Well rested and feeding off the home crowd, the Houston Astros took the first game of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night, downing the New York Yankees.
Preparing for their ALCS opponent ever since sweeping the Seattle Mariners out of the postseason on Saturday, the Houston Astros used a dominating performance from starting pitcher Justin Verlander and plenty of power at the plate to post a 4-2 win. After winning five of seven games from the New York Yankees during the regular season, Houston continued its success against the AL East champions on Wednesday.
3 numbers that matter from Houston Astros win over New York Yankees in ALCS Game 1
17
That’s the number of strikeouts logged by the Yankees on Wednesday night. That number includes 11 posted by Verlander in his six innings of work.
Particularly troubling for the Yankees were the performances of Josh Donaldson and Matt Carpenter, batting fifth and sixth, respectively, in the New York batting order on Wednesday. The duo combined to go 0-for-7 with seven strikeouts, making the latter middle of the lineup a complete wasteland for the Bronx Bombers.
Donaldson has now had two or more strikeouts in his last four games, so manager Aaron Boone will have to figure out how much patience he has with him, and how long he can take a chance on Donaldson finally finding his way at the plate.