Hicks finally ends Verlander mastery
The numbers said Aaron Hicks had no chance against Justin Verlander.
Hicks entered Game 5 of the ALCS just 2-for-23 with 10 strikeouts in his career when facing the Houston right-hander. Then there’s the fact that until Hicks returned for this series, he hadn’t played since Aug. 3, when he suffered a strained flexor tendon near his right elbow.
But instead of being overmatched, Hicks delivered the most important hit of the game — and perhaps the season — as the Yankees avoided elimination.
Hicks’ dramatic three-run homer capped a wild first inning in a 4-1 win that extended the Yankees’ season.
“That was the game plan: to strike early,’’ Hicks said. “Get some good pitches to hit early in the count and try to be aggressive towards him early in the game, and we were able to score four off of him.’’
The Yankees, reeling after one of their ugliest losses of the year in an error-filled mess in Game 4, fell behind 1-0 in the first.
With Verlander on full rest, they appeared to be in trouble.
But DJ LeMahieu tied the game on Verlander’s second pitch with an oppositefield homer to right-center.
Aaron Judge then ripped a single to left and Gleyber Torres followed with a double to left, sending Judge to third.
Giancarlo Stanton, in his first at-bat since suffering a strained quad in Game 1 of the ALCS, then whiffed for the first out.
Hicks fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and then turned on a 3-2 pitch.
As Hicks stood at the plate watching, the ball hooked and nearly went foul, before bouncing off the foul pole for a threerun homer to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead — and send a chilly Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
“I felt like I hit it,” Hicks said. “I knew I hit it well. I felt like I stayed inside the ball well enough for it to be fair. And that’s kind of like my thing, kind of staying up on home runs like that, especially when I know I’ve got it. It definitely had a lot more spin on it than I thought. But it was able to stay fair and put us up right there.’’