With chance to change game, Correa crumbles in clutch

Usually, hype is simply a precursor to disappointment. Most often, when you hear a name before you see a face, the expectations are ultimately eviscerated by reality.

For Carlos Correa, the pressure has never been too much. In the playoffs, the former No. 1 overall pick has only become a bigger star, sending the Astros to New York with a 2-0 series lead in the ALCS after producing the only runs of Houston’s Game 2 win, in which he homered and hit a walk-off double against Aroldis Chapman.

In Game 3, CC Sabathia paused Correa’s rapidly growing legend, and at least temporarily, stopped the star shortstop’s domination of the Yankees.

And without Correa coming through in the clutch, the rest of Houston’s offense remained invisible.

Despite having recorded a hit in six straight postseason games, and in 11 straight games against the Yankees, the 23-year-old — who went 1-for-4 — finally looked his age in the game’s biggest at-bat, popping up with the bases loaded against Sabathia in the third inning of the Astros’ 8-1 loss in The Bronx.

After striking out swinging in his first at-bat against Sabathia, Correa came to the plate in the third with the bases loaded and two outs, the Yankees holding a 3-0 lead.

Correa was batting .474 in his previous 10 games against the Yankees. During the regular season, he hit .600 at Yankee Stadium. In his three-year career, the former Rookie of the Year was a lifetime .425 hitter in The Bronx.

With three homers in this year’s playoffs, Correa already had joined Mickey Mantle, Andruw Jones, Kyle Schwarber and Evan Longoria as the only players with five career playoff home runs before turning 24.

Few players were better suited for the moment. Few players could strike as much fear into the seats at the Stadium.

Sabathia opened with a fastball, which the star shortstop took for a strike. The veteran southpaw followed with another inside fastball, surprisingly inducing a soft pop up from Correa that drifted towards the back of the infield, with the crowd erupting, as much as exhaling.

“I was trying to make a pitch. He likes to get his hands extended,” Sabathia said. “I was trying to get something in on him and made a good enough pitch where he popped it up to short.”

For one night, the Yankees slowed one of the game’s fastestrising stars. In one vital at-bat, Correa experienced a rare collision with disappointment.

If the Yankees can keep Correa down, the rest of Houston’s suddenly abysmal offense may not be able to get back up.