BEEN HERE BEFORE
This marks only the second postseason meeting between the Yankees and Astros, the first coming in the 2015 wildcard game. Here’s a look at their two series from this season as well as that playoff game:
MAY 11-14 IN NEW YORK
The clubs played a four-game set, with the Astros winning three, though the actual series might have been overshadowed by Derek Jeter’s number retirement ceremony before Sunday night’s game. Dallas Keuchel outdueled Michael Pineda in the Astros’ 3-2 win in the opener. In Game 2, ex-Bomber Brian McCann went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and the Yankees couldn’t touch Lance McCullers Jr. in a 5-1 loss. The lone Yankees win that weekend came in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, when they torched the Houston bullpen for seven runs in a comeback 11-6 win. But the Astros had the last laugh when they shelled Masahiro Tanaka for eight runs in a 10-7 win in the nightcap.
JUNE 30-JULY 2 IN HOUSTON
The Astros won this series, too, with the Yankees squeezing out one victory. It came in the opener as the Bombers pounded out 13 runs on 14 hits, with a big spark from Brett Gardner (3-for-6, six RBIs, three runs) in Pineda’s secondto-last start of the season. The Yankees nearly won the second game before the Astros scored four runs off Dellin Betances in the bottom of the eighth to win it 7-6. The Astros kept the runs coming in the finale as they got to Luis Severino for six runs — Carlos Correa went 4-for-5 with three RBIs — while Mike Fiers and the bullpen combined for a six-hitter.
2015 AL WILD CARD GAME
Stifled by Keuchel in The Bronx, the Yankees went one-and-done. Keuchel tossed six shutout innings of three-hit ball, striking out seven. Tanaka countered by allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over five innings, which wasn’t enough. Colby Rasmus got the Astros on the board with a solo home run to lead off the second inning and Carlos Gomez added a solo shot to lead off the fourth. The Astros bullpen didn’t allow a hit as the Yankees went down quietly 3-0.