Altuve, Judge may boost ALCS offense
It’s blue blood vs. new money in the American League Championship Series.
The ALCS begins at 8:08 p.m. ET Friday at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The New York Yankees will be appearing in their 16th LCS, the most of any major league franchise, while the Houston Astros haven’t reached that round since 2005, when they were in the National League and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals.
Here are five things to watch in the ALCS.
Clash of traditions
The Astros have never won a World Series since their inception in 1962, and their lone appearance came in 2005 when they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games. Conversely, the Yankees have 27 World Series championships.
The Astros lost 106 games in 2011, 107 in 2012 and 111 in 2013 at the beginning stages of a massive rebuild. The Yankees haven’t had a losing season since 1992.
Little man with big bat
Jose Altuve, the Astros’ 5-6 second baseman, tied a postseason record when he belted three home runs against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of their AL Division Series. He finished the series 8-for-15 with four walks.
Altuve hit .346 in the regular season to win his second consecutive AL batting title and third in four years. He also topped the league in hits for a fourth consecutive season with 204 and is averaging 211 a year in that span.
The Verlander factor
Right-handed pitcher Justin Verlander has looked rejuvenated since the Astros acquired the 34year-old in a trade from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 31.
Verlander won all five regularseason starts for Houston with a sparkling 1.06 ERA.
Verlander then notched two
wins over the Red Sox, one as a starter and the other in the first relief appearance of his 13-year career, allowing three runs in 8 2⁄3 innings.
Getting Judge-y
Yankees rookie right fielder Aaron Judge set the major league rookie record with 52 home runs
in the regular season, and either he or Altuve is likely to win the AL MVP Award.
Judge hit a home run in the Yankees’ victory over the Minnesota Twins in the AL wild-card game. However, he set a postseason record for strikeouts in a series with 16 against the Indians while going 1-for-20.
Houston Strong
Houston and the surrounding region was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in late August. The Astros have repeatedly said over the last six weeks how badly they want to win the World Series to bring some joy to a city devastated by flooding and high winds.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rican Astros Carlos Correa and Carlos Beltran had family members affected by Hurricane Maria. Beltran donated $1 million to a relief fund that raised at least $1.3 million, and Astros owner Jim Crane sent three planes to Puerto Rico with 300,000 pounds of supplies and also to transport Astros family members and others in need of medical treatment to Houston.