Bashed in the Bronx: Astros on brink
NEW YORK — Dallas Keuchel walked from the mound to the dugout during the top of the fifth inning, a blank look on his face, his glove resting on a hip.
Jose Altuve flung his bat. Josh Reddick slammed his helmet.
Feeling a bit spaced out, the Houston Astros will be happy to get home after a three-day bashing in the Bronx.
“This is a wild place to play, to say the least,” George Springer said after a 5-0 loss Wednesday night gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 lead in the AL Championship Series.
“The fans are into the game and they expect their team to win, and they act as if they’d won 27 world championships.”
Houston hit .120 in the threegame wipeout, was outscored 19-5 and outhit 25-12. Just one of the Astros’ last 15 batters reached base in Game 5. The series resumes Friday at Minute Maid Park.
“Every home team has won this series,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch pointed out. “So if that trend continues, we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
Houston’s pair of 2-1 wins at the Juice Box last weekend were distant memories after three days unsuccessfully fending off New York’s noisy bats and fans.
“New York is no joke,” Keuchel said. “Yankee Stadium is a tough place to play and it was rockin’ these three games. But it’s going to be rockin’ on Friday for us.”
Keuchel had pitched 13 scoreless innings against the Yankees in post-season play, including seven to win the opener. The bushy bearded ace was 6-2 against New York, never allowing more than three runs.
But those precise pitches were a smidgen off as Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius had run-scoring hits to chase him after 4 2/3 innings. It was Keuchel’s shortest outing since finding his groove in August after struggling in his return from a neck injury.