Sports: Astros beat Yankees, 7-1, to force a Game 7
Houston — Justin Verlander remained perfect with Houston, pitching seven shutout innings when the team needed him most, and Jose Altuve homered and drove in three runs as the Astros extended the AL Championship Series to a decisive Game 7 with a 7-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night.
Acquired in an Aug. 31 trade, Verlander has won all nine outings with the Astros. And with his new club facing elimination in Game 6 against the Yankees, he delivered again.
After striking out 13 in a complete-game victory in Game 2, Verlander threw another gem. The right-hander scattered five hits and struck out eight to improve to 9-0 with 67 strikeouts since being traded from Detroit. George Springer helped him out of a jam in the seventh, leaping to make a catch at the center-field wall and rob Todd Frazier of extra bases with two on and Houston up 3-0.
Game 7 is tonight in Houston, with the winner advancing to the World Series against the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Yankees will have to win one more elimina-
tion game to get to their first World Series since 2009.
This time, the Baby Bombers are going to a Game 7 after missing a chance to close out the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros.
Luis Severino had another abbreviated start in Houston and Aaron Judge struck out two more times to match a major league record for strikeouts in a postseason before a towering home run in the Yankees' loss in Game 6.
With a series lead for the first time this postseason after winning all three ALCS games in the Bronx, the Yankees were again stifled by Justin Verlander — just like in Game 2. The big right-hander didn't go the distance this time, but he did get his ninth win in nine appearances since being acquired by Houston.
New York will have veteran lefthander CC Sabathia on the mound for Game 7 on Saturday night. Sabathia, reliever David Robertson and left fielder Brett Gardner are the only holdovers from the Yankees' last World Series team eight years ago — in Joe Girardi's second season as their manager.
It will be the first Game 7 for the Yankees since the 2004 ALCS, when the Boston Red Sox came back to claim the AL pennant after losing the first three games in that series.
The Yankees haven't lost when facing elimination this postseason. After beating Minnesota in the win-or-gohome AL wild-card game, New York lost the first two games in the bestof-five AL Division Series against Cleveland before winning three straight to advance.
Judge's third homer of this series — he hit two in New York — was a soaring shot off reliever Brad Peacock in the eighth projected to 425 feet by Statcast.
But in his other three at-bats, Judge grounded into a double play and struck out twice. That's 26 strikeouts this postseason for the rookie slugger, matching the record set by Alfonso Soriano while with the Yankees in 2003.
Severino got into trouble against the bottom half of the Astros order in the fifth. After No. 6 batter Alex Bregman walked to lead off, Evan Gattis drew a one-out walk and No. 9 batter Brian McCann got his first hit in the ALCS with a ground-rule double that drove in the first run.
George Springer, the Astros leadoff hitter still hitless in the ALCS, then drew a walk, and Jose Altuve ended an 0-for-12 slide with a two-run single that made it 3-0 and chased Severino.
Severino threw only 62 pitches — exactly half as many as Verlander — in Game 2. The 23-year-old righthander didn't even take the mound for the fifth in that game after he uncharacteristically wound his arm several times after giving up a solo homer to Carlos Correa, and was struck on the wrist of his non-throwing hand on the last out.