The Houston Astros continued to be a thorn in the side of the New York Yankees, as they took Game 2 of the ALCS and a 2-0 series lead.
The Houston Astros took Game 1 of the American League Championship Series by defeating the New York Yankees 4-2. With one more game remaining at Minute Maid Park in Houston, the Astros looked to get a win to take a 2-0 series lead before heading to New York for the next three.
On Thursday, the Astros picked up the 3-2 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the ALCS over the Yankees, with all three runs coming from third baseman Alex Bregman.
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Houston took an early lead in the bottom of the third inning, after third baseman Alex Bregman brought home himself, Martin Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez in the form of a three-run homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field.
Aaron Judge looked to have had a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning, but it died out just before it went over the right field fence.
Yet, New York did not falter in next half inning, as they scored two runs after Aaron Judge reached home on a groundout by Anthony Rizzo, and an RBI single by Gleyber Torres to cut the deficit to 3-2. However, they were not able to do anymore damage, as Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez struck out Josh Donaldson and Kyle Higashioka to end the inning and strand Torres on base.
The Yankees did get the tying run on base in the top of the ninth inning after Astros closer Ryan Pressly walked Donaldson. Manager Aaron Boone called upon Matt Carpenter to pinch-hit for Higashioka. Yet, on a 1-2 pitch, Carpenter could not hold up on a check swing attempt and struck out to end the game.
Valdez finished his night striking out nine batters and allowing two unearned runs on four hits in 7.0 innings. The Yankees recorded just four hits in the entire game, stranding nine runners on base. Oh, and they struck out 13 times, bringing their total to 30 through the first two games of the ALCS.
The series now return to New York for the next three games, with the Yankees looking to get some wins. It’s not like these games were blowouts, victory was attainable for New York, they just could not get the hits at pivotal moments in both games.
Meanwhile, the Astros will look to pour salt in the wound by winning the AL pennant inside Yankee Stadium.