Astros shut out Yankees to move 1 win away from World Series berth | CBC Sports
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.
The 106-win Astros, trying for their second straight AL pennant, improved to 6-0 this post-season. On the verge of reaching the World Series for the fourth time in six years, manager Dusty Baker’s team aims to close out the series on Sunday night when Lance McCullers Jr. starts against Nestor Cortes.
Only once in major league history has a team overcome a 3-0 post-season series deficit, Boston against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Christian Vazquez added a two-run single and Trey Mancini a sacrifice fly as the Astros chased Cole in the sixth inning and opened a five-run lead.
THIS train keeps rolling. <a href=”https://t.co/xOYlI0FMT4″>pic.twitter.com/xOYlI0FMT4</a>
—@astros
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.
Hector Neris, Ryan Stanek, Hunter Brown, Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu finished with scoreless relief. The Yankees got a pair of two-out hits in the ninth.
New York facing elimination
New York, which last reached the World Series 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.
The Yankees are hitting .128 in the ALCS with 41 strikeouts and have lost eight of 10 to Houston this year, throwing just 13 pitches with a lead.
Gold Glove centre fielder Harrison Bader made a costly error in the second inning and was caught stealing second by Vazquez after a leadoff walk in the fifth.
As Bader was about to catch Vazquez’s two-out fly to right-centre in the second, Judge cut in front of Bader and the ball popped out of the centre fielder’s green glove. Vazquez, thinking he was out, had already started cutting across the infield grass toward Houston’s dugout on the third-base side, then retreated to first.
Astros teammates celebrated in the dugout with the Chas chomp — exaggerated clapping with arms spread wide. The gesture appears to have been initiated by Astros fan Scott Agruso, who attends games at Minute Maid Park wearing an alligator suit.
Cole, baseball’s highest paid pitcher with a $324 million US, nine-year deal, allowed a home run for the 11th consecutive start. He walked off the mound stone faced when Boone removed him in the sixth.
Alex Bregman doubled leading off, Kyle Tucker walked and Yuli Gurriel blooped a single down the right-field line.
Lou Trivino relieved and Trey Mancini, in his first start of the series, made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly that advanced all three runners. Vazquez lined the next pitch into left, Trivino’s second straight slider, driving in two more runs.
