Astros put Yankees on brink of sweep
Javier and Houston bullpen hold New York to three hits in defeat
NEW YORK — Cristian Javier and Houston’s bullpen combined on a three-hitter, Chas McCormick followed a dropped flyball with an early two-run-homer and the Astros beat Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees 5-0 Saturday night to take a 3-0 AL Championship Series lead.
“That’s what the game’s about,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said “Even though it may not be, you have to kind of fool yourself that it is a break. And it’s amazing whatever you think can happen usually does happen. That was huge.”
Some Yankees fans, already after two losses in Houston, booed star slugger Aaron Judge after a pair of strikeouts and jeered manager Aaron Boone during pre-game introductions.
The 106-win Astros, trying for their second consecutive AL pennant, improved to 6-0 this postseason. On the verge of reaching the World Series for the fourth time in six years, Houston aims to close outthe series on Sunday night when Lance McCullers Jr. starts against Nestor Cortes.
Only one of 39 teams has recovered from a 3-0 postseason series deficit to win, Boston against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. Thirty teams completed sweeps.
Christian Vázquez added a two-run single and Trey Mancini a sacrifice fly after the Astros chased Cole in the sixth inning and opened a five-run-lead.
Javier pitched seven innings during the Astros’ combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium on June 25 and was nearly as sharp this time. He didn’t allow a ball out of the infield until Giancarlo Stanton’s one-out-double in the fourth — the only hit Javier allowed.
Making his first start since Oct. 1, the 25-year-old right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking three.
Héctor Neris, Ryan Stanek, Hunter Brown and Rafael Montero followed with hitless relief, and Bryan Abreu gave up a pair of two-out singles in the ninth.
New York, which last reached the World Series when it won in 2009, is on the precipice of elimination against Houston for the fourth time in eight seasons. After sprinting to a 61-23 record in early July, the Yankees spiraled to a 38-40 mark the rest of the way and have sputtered in the playoffs.
Judge, who set an AL record with 62 home runs during the season, went 0 for 4 and dropped to .156 with 14 strikeouts in the playoffs, including 1 for 12 against the Astros.
“Obviously, he’s the biggest force and key in our lineup, so we need to get something from him,” Boone said. “To win these games, you need a little something from everyone. Sometimes that can be something small, sometimes it can be something big, sometimes it can be something unexpected.”
New York is hitting .128 in the ALCS and has lost eight of 10 to Houston this year, throwing just 13 pitches with alead. Boone shrugged off the boos.
Cole, baseball’s highest paid pitcher, allowed a home run for the 11th consecutive start. He walked off the field stone-faced when he was removed.