The New York Yankees and Houston Astros, who have met in the American League Championship Series three times in 2017, 2019 and 2022, have past grievances and grudges that make the showdown in the first series particularly full of topics. After the first two games, the visiting Yankees won both games in Texas. In the third game, they sent out new classmate Marcus Stroman to serve as the pitcher, while the Astros introduced Hunter Brown to try to get back a win.
The Astros relied on the Yankees’ defensive flaws early in the game and the suppression of starting pitcher Brown and subsequent pitchers to take the lead. The situation changed in the first half of the seventh inning when Yankees youngster Oswaldo Cabrera hit a key two-run shot that tied the game, and then Juan Soto hit a two-run shot that led the score. In the end, the Yankees relied on their superior slugging power and bullpen strength to reverse the victory 5-3 and achieve their first perfect start of 3 wins and 0 losses since 2003.
In the bottom half of the second inning, with one out, Yainer Diaz stepped on the bases on a pass error by third baseman Cabrera. The next at bat, José Abreu reached the bases on a touch ball, and then there were two outs at first and third base. In this situation, Mauricio Dubón hit a double to right field, returning two runners on the base, helping the Astros score first and take a 2-0 lead.
In the first half of the third inning, the Yankees recovered 1 run by relying on a series of consecutive hits and a fielding error by first baseman Abreu. Unfortunately, Alex Verdugo, the next at bat, failed to continue the offensive and hit a double play to end the half-inning offense. , leaving remnants of first and second base.
In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Astros’ offense resumed. Victor Caratini and Jose Altuve hit the bases one after another, and it was Yordan Alvarez’s turn to bat. He hit a Carter ball in the inside corner into a grounder toward first base. The bounce was passed by first baseman Anthony Rizzo close to the glove and quickly passed to second base, but when shortstop Anthony Volpe was about to return the ball to the relief pitcher, it happened. The pass was passed, allowing the runner on base to come back and score, and the Astros made another victory.
Both starting pitchers performed at a high level in this game. Stroman finally pitched six full innings in his debut with the Yankees, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (all non-earned runs), and also gave up 4 runs. With three strikeouts and two walks, he gave a high-quality start and gave the Yankees a chance to counterattack; while the Astros’ much-anticipated Brown only allowed 1 run (non-blame) due to teammates’ errors in four innings of pitching. scored), allowed 4 hits, struck out 5 times and walked 2 times.
In the first half of the seventh inning, the Astros replaced Bryan Abreu, the third relief pitcher. After walking Austin Wells, who had a hot hand in this series, Oswaldo Cabrera took an inside corner fast ball and directed it to right field. The deep fly ball sailed over the glove of right fielder Kyle Tucker and sailed off the wall for a tying two-run homer, Cabrera’s first of the season.
Interestingly, the initial velocity of this ball is only 90.3 miles, and the flight distance is only 341 feet. Among the 30 major league stadiums, only the home runs of the Astros, Yankees and Mariners will occur, which is equal to It was the close right field and the short home run wall of the beautiful green field that allowed this crucial home run to tie the game.
After two outs, it was Soto’s turn to hit. Faced with Abreu’s outside corner slider, he hit it into his signature deep fly ball in the opposite direction, which eventually went over the home run wall in left field. Soto transferred teams. After the first hit was officially released, the Yankees were ahead of the score, relying on this invincible gun to achieve a 4-3 lead.
In the second half of the eighth inning, Volpe, who had adjusted his hitting posture during the off-season, hit another icing on the cake from Ryan Pressly. With the perfect defense of Ian Hamilton (2 innings) and closer Clay Holmes (1 inning), the score was seven. For three and a half innings, the Astros didn’t allow any batters to reach a base. The Yankees won 5-3 in the end, winning three consecutive games to start the season. They were also the first to go 3-0 since 2003. A perfect start.
The “bullpens” of the two teams in this series have become a watershed for both sides. Including this game, the Yankees’ bullpen has a perfect 0 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched; on the other hand, the Astros’ bullpen has a consecutive 0. After three days of trying to put out the fire, not to mention failed rescues and missed pitches, they gave up 13 runs (11 earned runs) in 12.1 innings of pitching, and ultimately the team paid the price of losing. Whether he can regain his sixth-best bullpen defensive rating in the American League last year remains to be seen.
Cabrera, who replaced the injured DJ LeMahieu as the starting third baseman, has seized a rare opportunity to play in this series. He has posted a .538 batting average (13 hits and 7 hits) and a 1.615 average in three games so far this season. ’s OPS, providing an unexpected injection of firepower for the Yankees’ second half. He was originally positioned as a tool man. If he can maintain the same hot touch after LeMahieu returns to the team, he will have one more player for the Yankees. Available troops.
2024-03-31 05:11:58
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