Wit Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton tamed for the most part, the New York Yankees keep increasing the difficulty to have any shot against the powerful Houston Astros. The ALCS continued with game 2 at Minute Maid Park and a Houston crowd that knows they actually have a great shot at winning the series. For the entire season, the Astros have remained as one of the most dominant sides of the whole MLB. It was only logical they could be in this position as they faced the hit-and-miss Yankees.
Apart from Aaron Judge’s home run record, there hasn’t been any consistency in these Yankees that makes them look like a title contender. After these two games in Houston, the series will go to The Bronx for the next two games and the hope that the Yankees can respond to these two setbacks. On thursday evening, New York showed they could have a shot at getting some wins at home as they only lost by a single run and made the Astros fans sweat with anxiety.
Valdez follows in Verlander’s lead
After Justin Verlander’s brilliant pitching performance in game 1, Framber Valdez responded to the challenge in game two. Between the two of them, they combined for 30 strikeouts in the two games they’ve opened. Closer Ryan Pressly also contributed to these numbers with a brilliant performance tonight. This Thursday, they bid farewell to 13 Yankees players with very little opposition. Stanton and Judge weren’t on point as they usually are.
Luis Severino was almost perfect as well but the two defective pitches he made in his entire run were enough for the Astros to get the two runs they needed to win the game. Maldonado was the one who connected the first hit that gave Houston the first run. After that, Alex Bregman connected a homer that placed the Astros with a 3-0 lead quite early in the game.
Even though the Yankees responded with two runs right after that, the Astros managed to keep the Yankees at bay for the rest of the game. Their two runs came through hits from Judge and Stanton but that was about all they could do to help their side. Game 3 of the series will take place next Saturday at Yankee Stadium. See you then.
.