N.Y. Yankees: Judge Wields His Mighty Gavel

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Series Tied 2-2

I - HOU 2; NYY 1

II - HOU 2; NYY 1

III - NYY 8; HOU 1

IV - NYY 6; HOU 4

WEDNESDAY

Houston Astros

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

161 Street and River Avenue

BRONX

New York Yankees: Judge Holds Court; Issues Stay Against Houston Astros.

Home Sweet Home is where the hits are.

For the moment, Aaron Judge and the Yankees have turned the tables on Houston.

As a team, the Yankees struck out an untenable 27 times (14 times in Game One, and another 13 times against Justin Verlander in Game Two).  That means exactly half of their 54 allotted outs came via strikeouts.  Headlining the futility were Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, who went a combined 1 for 14 in Houston, with seven strikeouts.  The Yankees otherwise totaled ten hits in the first two games at Houston, with only three going for extra bases.

The Astros wound up taking games One and Two by identically slim 2-1 margins of victory as a result.  In truth, Houston only managed just one more hit than the Yankees, and matched them with three extra base hits.  But it was Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa who profited most against Yankees pitching, going 8 for 15, with four runs scored and three RBI.

With a change of location, it is Judge, Sanchez, and the Yankees, now beginning to prosper, while Altuve, Correa, and the Astros, find themselves suddenly struggling at Yankee Stadium.

As a team, Houston only struck out a total of nine times through the first two games.  That changed upon their arrival in the Bronx, when they fanned seven times, with just four hits in Game Three, and struck out another nine times in Game Four.  Meanwhile, Houston's dynamic duo only went 1 for 14, with 3 walks, and just one run scored.

The formerly dormant bats of Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, however, are so far 4 for 13 in the Bronx, with a double, three runs scored, two home runs, and eight RBI.

The Yankees outscored Houston by a 14-5 margin in games Three and Four.  All you need to know is that the Bombers cut down their strikeouts, when compared to games One and Two, by two-thirds. They struck out six times as a team in Game Three, and just three times in Game Four.  That's 18 fewer overall strikeouts than games One and Two.

Putting more bat on the ball in games Three and Four, in turn, has resulted in 15 total hits for a plus-five, and seven extra base hits for a plus-four, when compared against their production in games One and Two at Houston.

The largest questions now looming for the Yankees are can Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez carry over their Game Three and Four success at the plate, into their rematch against Dallas Kuechel and Justin Verlander in games Five and Six, whom dominated them in Houston?

Secondly, can the Yankees starting pitching sustain their overall success against the Astros?

The Yankees four starters, (Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Sevrino, CC Sabathia, Sunny Gray) have joined to post a 1.71 ERA, having allowed just four earned runs over 20 innings pitched, with nine walks, and 12 strikeouts.

Keep in mind, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa went 5 for 15 specifically in games One and Two against Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino, with five runs scored, and three RBI.



Game time!