Yanks buoyed by ALDS turnaround
NEW YORK — Trailing again 2- 0 in the postseason, these young Yankees remain on an even keel going into Game 3 of the AL Championship Series on Monday against the Astros.
“I don’t know if it’s maturity or just being dumb,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said Sunday.
At 36, Sabathia will pitch Monday surrounded by a lineup that includes Aaron Judge ( 25), Gary Sanchez ( 24) and Greg Bird ( 24).
Houston, two wins from its first World Series appearance since 2005, starts 33- year- old right- hander Charlie Morton, who grew up in Connecticut rooting for the Yankees.
After a pair of 2- 1 games in Houston, the series shifted to the Bronx and the Astros worked out at Yankee Stadium, where New York went 51- 30 during the regular season. Houston won the 2015 AL wild- card game in the Bronx by a 3- 0 score.
“It will be the biggest game of my career,” said Morton, who didn’t get a decision against Boston in Game 4 of the ALDS.
While Judge, Sanchez and Didi Gregorius combined to go 2- for- 22 in the first two games, Astros stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa went 8- for- 15. Reaching the best- of- seven LCS is new for most players on both teams, and Astros manager A. J. Hinch thinks his players are motivated.
“Maybe we don’t sense sort of the magnitude of thes e moments because this is us, who we are, how we are,” he said.
New York seeks inspiration from its comeback last week from a 2- 0 deficit in the best- of- five Division Series against Cleveland, which led the AL with 102 wins — one more than Houston. Girardi said New York’s streaky nature during the season also bred confidence. The Yankees started 38- 23, opening a four- game AL East lead, before losing 19 of their next 26, then rebounding to finish 9171 and earn the top wild card.
“Guys started to understand that you have to be resilient in this game,” Girardi said. “You’re going to have really tough losses and you have to learn to bounce back.”