*Photo from Chron*
Houston leads series 3-0
The Houston Astros are a machine right now, they just can't be stopped. Chas McCormick homered, Christian Vazquez drove in two runs, and the Astros defeated the New York Yankees with a 5-0 victory on Saturday evening in New York.
With the win, the Astros have opened up a commanding 3-0 series lead on the Yankees. In postseason history, 39 teams have taken a 3-0 lead in a best of 7 series. One team in that mix has rallied to win the series. But the bad news for the Yankees? It was done against them, with the 2004 Boston Red Sox being the only team to pull that feat off.
Additionally, the win keeps the Astros undefeated in the postseason, now 6-0 and one win from advancing to the World Series. In 7 games in the regular season, the Astros beat the Yankees 5 out of 7 times. Now, they're one win away from knocking them out of the playoffs for the 3rd time in 6 years.
Houston manager Dusty Baker said of their postseason success that "Well, I don't know if dominant's the word. I mean, all of 'em are close, except tonight. So I don't think about being dominant. I just think about just scoring one more run than they score and winning the ballgame. The Yankees are always dangerous, especially here in New York, so we got an opportunity to close it out and win tomorrow, so we're going to take every opportunity to try to do that."
The game started scoreless, but that didn't last long with the Astros offense. In the second inning, McCormick gave Houston an early 2-0 lead with a two run home run to right field. There would be no more scoring until the 6th, when Trey Mancini scored Alex Bregman on a sac fly. Vazquez then scored Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel with a two run single to make the score 5-0, which held.
Getting the start for the Astros was Cristian Javier, who put together a stellar start. Javier allowed just one hit and 3 walks in 5 1/3 innings. Hector Neris finished the 6th before Ryne Stanek pitched the 7th. Hunter Brown and Rafael Montero pitched the 8th, and Bryan Abreu locked things down in the 9th.
Stanek said of the series advantage that "We’re throwing the ball really well, we’ve played great defense. We’re a confident team. We know what we’re capable of as a team, and everybody kind of holds everybody else accountable by their actions. You don’t want to be the one falling behind anybody by not putting the work in and letting the boys down. I think that’s just how we’re built."
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole toed the rubber in game 4, and was charged with 5 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings, failing to record an out in the 6th. Lou Trivino came on for two shutout innings, before Miguel Castro and Domingo German did the same in the 8th and 9th innings respectively.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the loss postgame that "To win these games, you need a little something from everyone. Sometimes that can be something small. Sometimes it can be something big. Sometimes it can be something unexpected. But we have people going out there that are certainly capable. A handful are struggling a little bit right now, but we’ve got to find a way against a very good pitching staff."
Up next, game 4 of the series is on Sunday night at Yankee stadium. The Astros will look to secure a sweep with Lance McCullers Jr getting the start, while Nestor Cortes starts for the Yankees as they look to force a game 5 at minimum.
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