![]() ![]() The only Astro who swung at a Sabathia pitch above the strike zone was DH Evan Gattis, just before he homered in the fourth for the only run scored off of Sabathia. Although the big lefty kept trying to expand the Houston hitters’ zones, they swung almost exclusively at strikes, forcing Sabathia to throw 65 pitches (and only 36 strikes) to record 10 outs. ![]() In Game 7, the Astros adjusted, and Sabathia’s strategy stopped working. In Game 3, the Astros offered at too many of Yankees starter CC Sabathia’s soft sliders and cutters, chasing inside, outside, up, and down. ![]() In a series that saw every home crowd go home happy, the Astros, who had home-field advantage, outlasted New York in the back-and-forth battle and beat the Yankees 4–0 in the series’ decisive game, earning a trip to the franchise’s second World Series.Īlthough the Astros’ aggressiveness produced some of the series’ signature plays, their discipline gave them the lead in Game 7. Throw in Bird getting cut down at the plate for the first time in a 2–1 win for the Astros in Game 1, and Yuli Gurriel sliding in safely on another short-hop home in Game 6, and home plate in Houston was a house of horrors for the Yankees in every ALCS game they played away from the fly-friendly Bronx. One week earlier, José Altuve scored the winning run in Game 2 on a send that might have seemed silly had Didi Gregorius not bounced the relay throw to Gary Sánchez, who couldn’t corral it even with a full second to spare. It was the second time in the series that the Astros got ultra-aggressive on a play at the plate, and the second time that fortune favored them on what looked like a low-probability play. Two outs, no runs, no replay review required. But Bregman-who moved from shortstop to third in the middle of last season so that Houston could cram him into an infield whose left side was anchored by Carlos Correa-delivered a perfect feed, and the ball beat Bird’s foot, which seemed superglued to the glove as the two slid plateward together. A little lower or a little slower, and the ball would have been late-or worse, deflected, allowing multiple runners to reach scoring position and potentially putting the Astros in an inescapable hole. With Bird heading for home, Bregman fired the ball to catcher Brian McCann at the only speed and trajectory that could have threaded it through the 6-foot-4 Bird’s windmilling limbs and into McCann’s motionless glove in time to apply the tag. Yet when Todd Frazier bounced the ball to Bregman at third with one out and Yankees on the corners, Bregman didn’t hesitate or pursue the safe course. ![]()
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