Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) hits a three-run home run against the New York Yankees. Photo by Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
With a 3-2 win on Thursday night at Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros took a 2-0 lead in the ALCS over the New York Yankees.
Alex Bregman’s three-run home run in the third inning would provide all of the runs the Houston Astros would need to take care of business in front of their home fans.
Now, with the series shifting to the Bronx, the New York Yankees have to figure out a way to cut down on the strikeouts, put together some offense and keep the Astros from hitting home runs.
Here are the big quotes from Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker after ALCS Game 2
With the Yankees leading all MLB teams during the regular season with 254 home runs, Houston’s focus has been to keep the ball in the park when New York is at the plate. The plan has worked, with Harrison Bader’s solo shot in Game 1 accounting for the only home run for the Yankees in the series so far. Houston, meanwhile, has four homers in the series.
Baker discussed his team’s home run advantage after Game 2.
“Well, you look, those guys over there, most of their runs come on home runs or walks, after you walk somebody, a home run. So you hate to live and die by the home run, but you’ll take ’em when you get ’em,” Baker said. “It’s hard to, you don’t see many rallies with three or four hits in a row, period. That’s the same way during the regular season. I mean, it’s a different game now.
“Like I said, it’s very important when you hit the home runs that they’re meaningful and the scores are such that most home runs that are hit are meaningful. So you can’t just hit home runs when you feel like it because if so, we would hit like seven, eight a night.”