In the most offensively competitive game of the entire ALCS, the Astros outlasted the Yankees beating them 6-5 and sweeping New York 4-0 to reach their fourth World Series in the last six years. It was another remarkable pitching effort for the bullpen after Lance McCullers, Jr. gave up four runs (three earned) in five tough innings where he clearly did not have his best stuff. The relievers gave up one hit the rest of the way (a home run by Harrison Bader – his second of the night).
Fortunately, the bats came to life and did just enough, coming back inning after inning, particularly the top of the order, which had been struggling the entire series.
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the National League Sunday as well and will be in Houston for game one of the World Series on Friday. For now, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from this one.
WINNERS
The boatloads of Astros fans in NYC.
Way to show up and show out, H-Town. The cheers were nearly as loud for the Astros as for the Yankees in Game 4. Well done.
Jose Altuve is back.
After an 0-25 start for Altuve, it was reasonable to wonder if he could turn it around. He got a walk here, a double there, but in Game 4, he finally looked like himself. He was 2-4 with two hits, two runs and one really dumb base running gaffe that fortunately didn’t cost the team anything. It was a very Altuve night and it was fantastic.
Harrison Bader
Bader did not have a single home run for the Yankees after being acquired in a trade, but he went OFF in the postseason with five homers, including a solo shot Sunday night. He went 3-5 with three runs scored. He was a one-man wrecking crew that didn’t get enough help from the rest of his team.
Jeremy Peña, MVP and no longer a rookie.
At the start of the season, few knew who the Astros shortstop was or how he could possibly replace star Carlos Correa. On Sunday night in the clinching game of the ALCS, he went 2-4 including a three-run homer to time the game in the third. He was 6-17 in the series with two long balls garnering him the ALCS MVP award. What a season for the kid living in the shadow of a legend…until now.
LOSERS
Aaron Judge, clutch hitter/free agent.
It was only fitting that the regular season MVP (to be announced) who set the American League record for home runs was the final guy up for the Yankees in the ALCS down one run in the ninth. Unfortunately, this was not the same guy we saw in the regular season. He went down on a weakly hit grounder and the series was over. Judge went 1-16 with five strikeouts in the ALCS. Now, he has to decide where he will end up next year.
Yankee fielding.
Twice in this series has an error by the Yankees turned into an important run for the Astros. In Game 4, it was a misplayed toss between Gleyber Torres and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Earlier in the series, it was an error in the outfield. Defense and pitching favored the Astros by a wide margin in this series and the sweep was the result.
Pitching health for New York.
Nestor Cortez looked pretty good early, but it became clear that something was off with the Yankee starter in the third. He eventually came out of the game with a groin strain and the Yanks were forced to go to a bullpen that hasn’t had a ton of success against the Astros.
Early season predictions.
Remember when the Yankees were going to win 120 games and no one could beat them? Yeah, us either.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
