The Houston Astros are one win away from making history as they defeated the New York Yankees 5-0 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night. The Astros, who won the World Series in 2022, are looking to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees did it in 1998-2000.
Javier dominates on the mound
The star of the game was Astros pitcher Cristian Javier, who threw six scoreless innings and allowed only one hit and five walks while striking out nine batters. Javier, who was a key reliever for the Astros in their 2022 title run, became the first pitcher in postseason history to have three consecutive outings of at least five innings with one hit or fewer allowed.
Javier escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning by striking out Max Kepler and Royce Lewis, two of the Yankees’ best hitters. Javier got 19 swings and misses among his 87 pitches, including 13 on his slider, which was his most effective pitch.
“I just tried to stay calm and focus on every pitch,” Javier said after the game. “I knew I had a great defense behind me and a great offense to support me.”
Astros’ offense explodes early
The Astros wasted no time in getting to Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who had a rough outing against his former team. Cole, who signed a record-breaking $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2021, gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks in four innings. He also surrendered two home runs, one to Jose Abreu and one to Alex Bregman.
Abreu’s homer was a three-run shot in the first inning that followed an error by Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader, who dropped a fly ball that allowed Christian Vazquez to reach base. Abreu hit a towering blast to left field that traveled 442 feet, according to Statcast. It was his second homer of the series and his fifth of the postseason.
Bregman’s homer was a solo shot in the fifth inning that chased Cole from the game. Bregman hit a line drive to right field that barely cleared the fence. It was his 16th career postseason homer, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time playoff home runs list. Bregman also became the third baseman with the most playoff homers in history.
Yordan Alvarez added another homer for the Astros in the ninth inning, a two-run shot off Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga. Alvarez had a monster game, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. He is batting .500 (10-for-20) with four homers and nine RBIs in the series.
Yankees’ offense struggles again
The Yankees, who led the majors in runs scored during the regular season, have been shut out twice in three games by the Astros’ pitching staff. The Yankees have scored only three runs and hit only one homer in the series, while striking out 33 times and leaving 25 runners on base.
The Yankees had some chances to score in Game 3, but they could not capitalize on them. They had runners on second and third with one out in the second inning, but Javier struck out Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner. They had runners on first and second with no outs in the fourth inning, but Javier induced a double play from Aaron Judge and a fly out from Giancarlo Stanton. And they had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth inning, but Javier struck out Kepler and Lewis.
The Yankees’ best hitter in the series has been DJ LeMahieu, who went 2-for-4 in Game 3 and is batting .462 (6-for-13) in the series. However, he has not gotten much help from his teammates, especially Judge and Stanton, who are batting .154 (2-for-13) and .077 (1-for-13), respectively.
Astros look to finish off Yankees
The Astros will try to complete their sweep of the Yankees on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium. The Astros will send Lance McCullers Jr., who pitched six scoreless innings in Game 1, to the mound. The Yankees will counter with Nestor Cortes, who had a 3.83 ERA in 27 games (16 starts) during the regular season.
The Astros are confident that they can finish off their rivals and advance to their seventh straight ALCS.
“We’re playing great baseball right now,” Bregman said. “We’re not taking anything for granted. We know how good they are. We know how hard it is to win here. We’re just going to keep playing our game and try to get one more win.”
