Yanks again must dig out from 2-0 down

NEW YORK» Trailing again 2-0 in the postseason, these Yankees remain evenkeeled going into Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Astros.

“I don’t know if it’s maturity or just being dumb,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said Sunday.

At 36 the old man of the pitching staff, Sabathia will pitch Monday surrounded by a starting lineup that includes Baby Bombers 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. He remembered getting Joe Girardi’s autograph at spring training and his family spotting Derek Jeter at a Bahama Breeze AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Houston 2, New York 1 Houston 2, New York 1

Monday: At New York, 6 p.m. (FS1) Tuesday: At New York, 3 p.m. (FS1) x-Wednesday: At New York, 3 p.m. (FS1) x-Friday: At Houston, 6 p.m. (FS1) x-Saturday: At Houston, 6 p.m. (FS1) restaurant, an especially exhilarating experience for his sister, Jennie.

“She walked up to him and said, ‘Hey, can I have a picture with you?’ And he said, ‘Only if you smile,’ ” Morton recalled.

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 division series.

While Judge, Sanchez and Didi Gregorius combined to go 2-for-22 in the first two games of the series, 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 by doing well for each other.

“Maybe we don’t sense sort of the magnitude of these 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.