Judge’s bat booms, as Yankees beat Astros to even ALCS at 2-2
Into the late innings of Game 4, the shadow of Dallas Keuchel began looming ever larger at Yankee Stadium.
And when Yuri Gurriel’s threerun double broke open a scoreless game in the sixth, the Astros began counting the outs, picturing their lefthanded ace pitching for the pennant Wednesday.
Yet, six outs away from taking a 3-1 lead in Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series, Houston was dazzled by another late dose of Yankees magic.
After Aaron Judge’s RBI double off the left field wall tied it against Houston closer Ken Giles in the eighth, Gary Sanchez followed with his first base hit of the ALCS — a line drive, two-run double to rightcentre that shook the Stadium.
Aroldis Chapman saved the Yankees’ sudden, 6-4 win before 48,804 fans, evening the best-of-seven ALCS and denying Keuchel a chance to pitch for a pennant in Wednesday’s Game 5.
Curveball artist Lance McCullers Jr. had one-hit the Yankees until the seventh, and the Astros held a 4-0 lead when Judge led off the inning by bashing a first-pitch breaking ball well over the centre field wall.
And that finally stirred something in the Yankees’ lineup. Didi Gregorius greeted reliever Chris Devenski with a triple to the left-centre-field gap, and Sanchez — serving as the designated hitter, with Austin Romine catching — lifted a sac fly to right.
Sanchez’s first RBI of the ALCS cut Houston’s lead to 4-2. And then the Yanks went to work on relieve Joe Musgrove in the eighth, exploiting the Astros’ biggest weakness — their setup relief.
Todd Frazier opened the eighth with a single and moved to third on pinch-hitter Chase Headley’s base hit to left centre, which came with its own set of thrills.
Headley tripped between first and second and seemed trapped, but the relay went to first base — allowing Headley to be safe by the width of a fingernail at second, a play that survived a replay challenge.
Brett Gardner’s right-side groundout scored Frazier, and Judge drove home pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury by lashing a low Giles’ breaking pitch, missing a homer by a few feet. After a Gregorius infield single, Sanchez’s two-run double snapped a personal 0-for-13 in the ALCS, and increased the bedlam in the Bronx.