ASTROS BEAT YANKEES 7-1, FORCE GAME 7 TONIGHT
Altuve’s 3 RBIs back right-hander’s win; Game 7 tonight.
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 righthander 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.
Gurriel’s chance: Yuli Gurriel has been savoring his chance with the Astros chasing their second trip to the World Series.
Still, there’s a part of him that yearns for the country he left behind for his shot in the majors as a 30-something rookie. Each time he buttons up his Astros jersey, he carries the weight of the four letters he wore across his chest for so many years.
“I know that in one way or another I am representing them, representing Cuba,” Gurriel said.
Gurriel signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with the Astros in July 2016 following a 15-year career in Cuba, where he starred professionally and helped the national team win gold medals at the 2004 Olympics and the World Cup in 2003 and 2005.
For boys in many countries, playing in a World Series is a lifelong dream. That wasn’t the case for Gurriel growing up.
“In Cuba, the focus was different: represent the nation,” he said. “Every time we would travel abroad, go for the gold.”
Gurriel was under the spotlight in elementary school because his father was a national superstar — Lourdes Gurriel helped Cuba win a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics and six more golds at the World Cup from 1980-1994.
“You see it as a shadow,” Yuli Gurriel said. “People over there see you as him, and they expect that much more of you. They don’t see you as the (player) that you are but how your dad was, and they demand a lot. It was very difficult in the beginning. When I would go play in Cuba, folks would say: ‘This is Gurriel’s son.’ And that made me uncomfortable at first.”
Gurriel said his father played baseball with him but never pushed him into the sport. Lourdes did, however, offer advice when he chose to pursue a career.
“That if I was going to play baseball, to play it with my all, with all my love. Leave it all on the field,” Gurriel said. “I have carried that with me since.”
Gurriel and his brother left Cuba in February 2016. After Gurriel signed with the Astros in July, Lourdes Jr. got a seven-year, $22 million deal with Toronto in November.