POP THE CORK

Yanks have two chances to finish off Astros and advance to Series

HOUSTON — Anything less than a World Series appearance by the Yankees will color the 2017 season as a disappointment.

With two chances to win one game against the Astros in the ALCS and advance to the World Series, the Yankees would be wise to treat Justin Verlander in Game 6 Friday night as they did Dallas Keuchel in Game 5.

The cute saga of the “Baby Bombers’’ has morphed into the Yankees being a victory away from their first World Series appearance since 2009.

It’s a chance that can’t be flushed because these opportunities, once considered a Yankees birthright, are rare.

“We have played with our backs against the wall this whole postseason,’’ Todd Frazier said after the Yankees copped a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven deal with a 5-0 win in Game 5 Wednesday night in The Bronx. “We know we are going to be electric in two days and we want to get a piece of Verlander and we want to get him out early, too.’’

After chasing l ongtime nemesis Keuchel in the fifth inning, the Yankees can close out the Astros in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park and avoid a Game 7, which would be Saturday.

With Verlander, nothing is painless but not much has come easy for the Yankees this postseason. They had to crawl out of a 3-0 hole in the first inning of the AL wild-card game against the Twins. They lost the first two games of the ALDS against the Indians and then won three straight. The Astros won a pair of 2-1 games to open the ALCS.

Now, after winning three straight in The Bronx where the Yankees’ pitching dominated the Astros, who are hitting .147 (22-for-150) with a horrific .447 OPS, the Yankees are playing from in front instead of from behind.

“Yeah, it does feel different. We’ve been on — we have to win today, we can’t afford to lose today for a number of reasons. But I still think the attitude will be the same, win one game,’’ manager Joe Girardi said on a conference call before the Yankees departed New York on a 2 p.m. flight. Thursday. “That is what we’ve kind of talked about, and that’s kind of what we’ve stuck to around here. That’s what you try to do, win a game on Friday night. We’re facing a great pitcher and facing a great opponent, but we have to win one game and that’s what we’ll stick to.’’

Great does a disservice to Verlander’s performance in Game 2, when he fired a complete-game victory in which he struck out 13. Luis Severino goes for the Yankees in a rematch of Game 2 when Girardi, concerned about Severino swinging his right arm on the mound, pulled his regular-season ace after four frames.

Since then Severino has been examined twice by doctors who found nothing to cause concern and the pitcher continues to insist he is healthy.

The Astros were the better team during the summer but not lately.

The Yankees are playing very well while the Astros have looked ill at the plate and their bullpen has been shaky.

Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge went a combined 7-for-20 (.350) with three homers and 11 RBIs in the three victories in The Bronx. Greg Bird, whom Judge tagged as the Yankees’ best hitter following Game 5, is batting .308 (4-for-13) in the five games. Tommy Kahnle has developed into a valuable late-inning reliever.

Manager A.J. Hinch isn’t simply banking on Verlander to get the Astros to Game 7. He watched the Yankees win three straight at Yankee Stadium and is figuring Minute Maid Park will help.

“We earned that home field. We had 101 wins for a reason,’’ Hinch said. “We don’t automatically flush those down the toilet because we lost a couple of games in New York.’’

So much about the Yankees’ future is blinding, but nowhere near as bright as the present because one more win and the World Series awaits.