A capsule look at the Yankees-astros playoff series
A look at the best-of-seven American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros: Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Friday, at Houston, 8:08 p.m. (FS1); Game 2, Saturday, at Houston, 4:08 p.m. (Fox); Game 3, Monday, Oct. 16, at New York, 8:08 p.m. (FS1); Game 4, Tuesday, Oct. 17, at New York, TBA (Fox or FS1); x-game 5, Wednesday, Oct. 18, at New York, TBA (Fox or FS1); x-game 6, Friday, Oct. 20, at Houston, TBA (Fox or FS1); x-game 7, Saturday, Oct. 21, at Houston, TBA (Fox or FS1).
x-if necessary. Season Series: Astros won 5-2. Projected Lineup:
Yankees: LF Brett Gardner (.264, 21 HRS, 63 RBIS, 96 runs, 23 SBS), RF Aaron Judge (.284, Al-leading 52, 114), SS Didi Gregorius (.287, 25, 87), C Gary Sanchez (.278, 33, 90 in 122 games), 1B Greg Bird (.190, 9, 28 in 48 games), 2B Starlin Castro (.300, 16, 63 in 112 games), CF Aaron Hicks (.266, 15, 52 in 88 games), DH Chase Headley (.273, 12, 61) or Jacoby Ellsbury (.264, 7, 39, 22 SBS in 112 games) or Matt Holliday (.231, 19, 64 in 105 games), 3B Todd Frazier (.213, 27, 76 with White Sox and Yankees).
Astros: CF George Springer (.283, 34, 85), RF Josh Reddick (.314, 13, 82, 34 doubles), 2B Jose Altuve (.346, 24, 81, 39 doubles, 32 SBS; 204 hits to lead AL for 4th straight year, won 2nd consecutive batting title and 3rd overall), SS Carlos Correa (.315, 24, 84, 25 doubles), LF Marwin Gonzalez (.303, 23, 90, 34 doubles), 3B Alex Bregman (.284, 19, 71, 39 doubles), DH Evan Gattis (.263, 12, 55) or Carlos Beltran (.231, 14, 51), 1B Yuli Gurriel (.299, 18, 75, 43 doubles), C Brian Mccann (.241, 18, 62). Projected Rotation:
Yankees: RH Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74 ERA, 194 Ks), RH Luis Severino (14-8, 2.98, 230 Ks in 193 1/3 IP), LH CC Sabathia (14-5, 3.69), RH Sonny Gray (10-12, 3.55 with Athletics and Yankees).
Astros: LH Dallas Keuchel (14-5, 2.90), RH Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36 for Detroit and Houston; 5-0, 1.06 in 5 starts with Astros), RH Brad Peacock (132, 3.00, career-high wins), RH Charlie Morton (14-7, 3.62). Relievers:
Yankees: LH Aroldis Chapman (4-3, 3.22, 22/27 saves in 52 games, 69 Ks in 50 1/3 IP), RH David Robertson (9-2, 1.48, 14/16 saves in 61 games with Yankees and White Sox), RH Tommy Kahnle (2-4, 2.59, 96 Ks in 62 2/3 IP with Yankees and White Sox), RH Chad Green (5-0, 1.83, 103 Ks in 69 IP), RH Dellin Betances (3-6, 2.87, 10/13 saves in 66 games, 100 Ks in 50 2/3 IP), RH Adam Warren (3-2, 2.35 in 44 games), LH Jaime Garcia (5-10, 4.41 in 27 starts for Braves, Twins and Yankees), LH Chasen Shreve (4-1, 3.77 in 44 games) or LH Jordan Montgomery (9-7, 3.88 in 29 starts).
Astros: RH Ken Giles (1-3, 2.30, 34/38 saves), RH Chris Devenski (8-5, 2.68), RH Joe Musgrove (7-8, 4.77), RH Will Harris (3-2, 2.98), LH Francisco Liriano (6-7, 5.66 with Blue Jays and Astros), RH Luke Gregerson (2-3, 4.57), RH Lance Mccullers (7-4, 4.25 in 22 starts). Matchups:
This is the second post-season meeting between the teams. Houston won the 2015 AL wildcard game at Yankee Stadium when Keuchel beat Tanaka 3-0. ... Series features two highestscoring teams in the majors and some of the brightest young stars in baseball, including Sanchez, Severino, Correa and Springer. It also matches two front-runners for AL MVP in Judge and Altuve, diametrically built and off to opposite starts in these playoffs. The 6-foot-7 Judge homered in his post-season debut during the wild-card win over Minnesota but went 1 for 20 with a record 16 strikeouts as the Yankees came back to beat Cleveland in the Division Series. The 5-foot-6 Altuve hit three home runs in the ALDS opener against Boston, two off ace Chris Sale, and batted .533 (8 for 15) with five runs scored and a 1.765 OPS in the series. ... Correa feasted on Yankees pitching this year, batting .500 (14 for 28) with two doubles, two homers and 10 RBIS. Gurriel also did fine, hitting .409 (9 for 22) with two doubles, two homers and 7 RBIS. ... Gardner hit a grand slam and had six RBIS in one of New York’s wins over Houston. ... Both organizations stockpiled and developed talented prospects in recent seasons and appear poised to contend in October for years to come. ... Yankees scored 858 runs during the regular season, an increase of 178 from last year and second in the majors behind Houston (896). The Astros outscored New York 43-41 in their seven matchups, with Houston hitting 11 home runs and the Yankees seven. ... As a free agent, Mccann signed an $85 million, five-year contract with the Yankees before the 2014 season that included a club option for 2019. He spent three seasons in New York, hitting at least 20 home runs during each one but batting well below his career average. After the rocket-armed Sanchez was called up in early August 2016 and quickly emerged as a prodigious power hitter behind the plate, the Yankees traded McCann and $11 million to Houston in the off-season for two minor leaguers. ... Verlander is 9-5 with a 3.36 ERA in his postseason career. He is 6-7 with a 3.87 ERA in 18 regular-season starts against the Yankees.