With the ALCS tied at one, the Yankees head back home looking to take advantage of the Yankee Stadium crowd. Where do the Yanks stand going into Game Three?
At about 1 A.M. this morning, Carlos Correa hit a walk-off bomb to right field off J.A. Happ to tie the ALCS at one game apiece. Now, the series shifts back to the Bronx, where the New York Yankees will look to take at least two out of three games from the Houston Astros and regain control. Game two wasn’t pretty, but it could be a lot worse, and the Yankees winning Game Three should be an absolute necessity.
It Could be Worse…
Going into this series, the goal for the Yankees was to win at least a game and head back home tied at 1-1. The Yankees accomplished that, and can now potentially win the series in five by winning the next three in the Bronx. If the Yankees were to lose both Games 1 and two, the series would be looking quite grim. The Astros would have a 2-0 lead with arguable Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole on the mound, Houston poised to go up 3-0.
Instead, if the Yankees pull one out tomorrow, they would’ve taken a game against Cole and have a lead going into game four, with the ‘Stros likely throwing a bullpen day/Jose Urquidy in Game Four and Zack Greinke in Game Five, making this series possible to be wrapped up by Thursday.
It Could Also Be Better…
The goal was to just win one of the first two games in Houston. However, the Yankees had a chance to win both and take a commanding ALCS lead. Unfortunately, they fell short in Game Two. The offense went to sleep after Aaron Judge’s 2-run home run. If the Yankees were able to just push across one more run, they likely would’ve gotten the win.
The fact that this game was winnable is what hurts the most. Houston was only held to two runs the first 10 innings. That should be enough to win, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
At the end of the day, winning one out of two should be treated as an overall victory. The Yankees will have to get this bad taste out of their mouth quick. That is if they want to win game three.
Speaking of Game Three…
Gerrit Cole gets the ball for Houston, as Luis Severino toes the rubber for the Yanks. I wouldn’t expect Severino to go too deep, but if he’s dealing, five innings would probably be his limit. At that point, if the Yankees have a lead, they will likely hand the ball off to their bullpen. The Yankees need a big performance out of Severino tomorrow. If they don’t, their season could be in jeopardy.