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  “But the Yankees are so storied. It’s just a storied franchise, and they have so much rich history that you almost don’t even have to get up for the game. You’re already up for it.”

  To complement his 10 strikeouts, Keuchel induced eight outs on the ground. His trademark sinker featured the late life it does when he’s at his best. He supplemented it with cutters, which he has used increasingly since late in the regular season. His slider was as effective as it’s been since he returned in late July from the neck issue that cost him eight weeks of the season.

  “Sinker, cutter, slider. He didn’t even use a changeup today. He’s got so many plans out there, and when plan A is working, he sticks with it, and when plan A doesn’t work, he goes to plan B,” Correa said. “That’s what makes him so special.”

  Said catcher Brian McCann, “He pitched an incredible baseball game.”

  The legs of Altuve, the bats of Correa and Yuli Gurriel, and the arm of Marwin Gonzalez did the rest.

  Altuve, serenaded by the crowd at his every move by “MVP” chants, had three more hits and manufactured the game’s first run in the fourth with his legs. After reaching on an infield single up the middle to second baseman Starlin Castro’s back hand, he stole second base. On the next pitch from Masahiro Tanaka, Correa lined a single to left field to score his double-play partner.

  Dallas Keuchel’s masterful seven-inning performance was essential in the Astros’ Game 1 ALCS victory. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

  Correa advanced to second on a groundout by Gonzalez and scored on a single by Gurriel. The Astros’ three singles in the inning accounted for all but one of the hits they mustered off Tanaka, who completed six innings as the other half of a pitchers’ duel. Tanaka surprised the Astros by throwing only 16 splitters among his 89 pitches, an abnormally low total for him.

  In a low-scoring game, it was appropriate that a defensive play changed the complexion of the evening. Gonzalez, an infielder playing left field, saved a run for Keuchel in the fifth. After a leadoff single by Greg Bird and the error by Altuve, Keuchel got Todd Frazier to fly out and struck out Brett Gardner to put himself on the verge of escaping the jam.

  But with two outs, Aaron Judge lined a single to left field. Yankees third-base coach Joe Espada sent Bird, and Gonzalez threw a strike home just in time to get him.

  Later, it loomed large.

  “You can’t really say enough about the play of Marwin the whole season,” Keuchel said. “He’s literally the most undervalued player in the big leagues. And now that we got national attention, we’re seeing everybody’s worth.”

  V is for Verlander and Victory

  Ace’s Complete Game Capped by Altuve’s Mad Dash

  By Brian T. Smith

  American League Championship Series Game 2

  October 14, 2017 • Houston, Texas

  Astros 2, Yankees 1

  Justin Verlander’s baseball hero and childhood idol, Nolan Ryan, watched the endless beauty behind home plate. When Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve gathered before the Astros’ eruption in the ninth inning, they told themselves they had to finish off the Yankees in Verlander’s honor.

  And even if A.J. Hinch had tried to remove the ball from his new ace’s hands before the 124th pitch in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, the manager knew exactly what Verlander would say.

  Go away.

  This is still my game to win.

  I’m not leaving the mound.

  “I would have had to rip the ball away from that man if I was going to take him out,” said Hinch, after Correa ripped a game-winning double to right field. Altuve kept racing toward home, and the Astros celebrated a 2-0 lead in the ALCS by going crazy at Minute Maid Park in one of the most thrilling playoff finishes in franchise history.

  The 2017 Astros aren’t two wins away from the World Series without Verlander.

  Heck, they might not be playing in the middle of October.

  Verlander changed his life at the last minute just before August became September, suddenly agreeing to become a Houstonian. Since then, all the 34-year-old righthander has done is arrive at Minute Maid on the day the Astros started playing home games again after Hurricane Harvey, dominate the mound on the day his new team captured the AL West, shut down Boston in Game 1 of the AL Division Series, emerge out of the pen for the first time in his career to clinch Game 4, then silence New York 2-1 in Game 2 of the ALCS.

  Justin Verlander walks off the field after ending the top of the eighth inning with three straight strikeouts during Game 2. Verlander was brilliant in the win, pitching a complete game with 13 strikeouts and only one earned run. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

  Verlander is a stunning 8-0 with 59 strikeouts and just eight earned runs in 512⁄3 innings as an Astro.

  He’s 1998 Randy Johnson but ultimately even better – the best regular-season club in franchise history didn’t make it past the NLDS.

  And all the phone calls, text messages, pros and cons, and monumental life decisions Aug. 31 now make so much sense.

  Verlander has been exactly what the 2017 Astros needed and arrived at the absolutely perfect time. Saturday at Minute Maid was one of the strongest and most inspiring outings of his 13-year career, and the Astros aren’t up 2-0 against New York without No. 35.

  “When it came down to it, when I decided to say yes, these are the moments that you envision,” said Verlander, who set a career playoff high with 13 strikeouts and limited the Yankees to five hits and one earned run in nine winning innings. “I was brought here to help this team win a championship. And I’m aware of that, and I’m going to do everything I possibly can.

  “That’s what it’s all about, man. After that game is over and just kind of sitting in the clubhouse and having my teammates come over and say how much they appreciated that effort – that’s what it’s all about. That means everything to me.”

  In an era when starters are praised for just going seven, Verlander went the full, long, strong nine.

  Jose Altuve celebrates after tagging home to score the winning run on Carlos Correa’s walk off double in the ninth inning of Game 2. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

  Ringing shouts and cheers in the eighth. Then the instant recognition of the rare and special during the final frame, with Minute Maid standing as one and proudly claiming Verlander as its own.

  “That was probably the loudest I heard a ballpark or close to it. And I’ve been part of some pretty loud moments,” said Verlander, who passed Johnson for the most 11-or-more strikeout playoff games in MLB history. “The way those fans were pushing me to finish that game – or finish the ninth inning and have a chance to win the game – I mean, that matters. It gets your adrenaline going.”

  So does this.

  Verlander struck out the side in the eighth, and it was still 1-1. Then he returned to a roaring sea of orange in the ninth, endured a Didi Gregorius line-drive single to record three more outs, and the score didn’t move.

  So before Yankees fireballer Aroldis Chapman took over and extra innings became real life, Correa turned to his close friend and spoke the truth.

  We’ve got to do this for the team, Correa told Altuve. We’ve got to come through right now.

  For 2-0 in the ALCS and two wins away from the World Series.

  The Astros celebrate around shortstop Carlos Correa who hit the game-winning RBI double. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle)

  Because the man who chose the Astros on Aug. 31 had given everything he had for the Astros in Game 2.

  “(Altuve’s) like, ‘OK, let’s do it,’” Correa said.

  Altuve single.

  Correa liner to right-center.

  Third-base coach Gary Pettis windmilling Altuve toward home. The ball arriving early, then bouncing around. The Astros leaping and shouting and believing, making all 124 of Verlander’s pitche
s count.

  The ace delivered like an old-school horse, mirroring the idol watching him from the seats.

  “Because of his success and the style of pitcher he is, I’ve watched his career since he came on the scene as a rookie,” Ryan said in September.

  The Astros followed Verlander’s lead, never gave in, and finally forced the Yankees to.

  “Big moments are meant for big-time performers. From pitch one, Justin Verlander was big for this team. Really, pitch one as an Astro,” Hinch said. “But most importantly, this game (Saturday), he was exceptional in every way. From controlling his emotions to executing every pitch to being dominant with his fastball, the put-away breaking ball, a couple changeups.

  “He just was every bit the top-end pitcher in the league that he’s been for a really long time. This is such a big moment for our team. But he put us on his back with his pitching.”

  They wanted him for this time. He came here for this moment.

  And in Game 2 of the ALCS, Verlander won it for the Astros.

  Jose Altuve hits a single during the ninth inning of the Game 2 win. The hit sparked the rally that would lead to a crucial victory. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle)

  Apple Jacks

  Frazier, Judge Hit 3-Run Homers to Put New York Back in Series

  By Jake Kaplan

  American League Championship Series Game 3

  October 16, 2017 • New York City, New York

  Yankees 8, Astros 1

  For as well as everything went for the Astros in the first two games of this American League Championship Series, with seemingly every bounce going their way, the third installment followed a script to disaster.

  Charlie Morton succumbed to a pair of two-out rallies. Cameron Maybin cost his starting pitcher an out on a terribly misplayed fly ball. Evan Gattis failed to block a curveball in the dirt with a runner on third base.

  And the New York Yankees’ bats awoke to narrow a series that before Monday night at Yankee Stadium had been controlled by the Astros.

  An 8-1 rout halved the Astros’ series lead to 2-1 and ensured their stay in the Big Apple will last through Wednesday night. The Astros will rely on Lance McCullers Jr. to set the tone on the mound in Game 4. His performance could be moot if their bats don’t get going. Through three games, their major league-leading offense has produced only five runs.

  Veteran lefthander CC Sabathia and relievers Adam Warren held the Astros scoreless through eight innings of Game 3. A bases-loaded walk by Alex Bregman against Tommy Kahnle in the ninth accounted for the Astros’ lone run. They left 11 runners on base. Even the mighty Jose Altuve was held hitless in four at-bats.

  “It’s frustrating over all,” right fielder Josh Reddick said. “We’ve got to get the big hits when we need them.”

  Morton was charged with seven earned runs in a line that won’t do his pitching justice. Two scored on a three-run homer by Aaron Judge that served as the Yankees’ knockout blow. After running defensive clinics in Games 1 and 2, the Astros’ gloves let them down in Game 3.

  Maybin’s misplay at the start of a five-run fourth inning for the Yankees loomed largest. It occurred on a fly ball down the left-field line off the bat of Greg Bird. The speedy Maybin, who was shifted toward center field, raced toward the ball in time to get under it but pulled up as he neared its landing spot. The ball took a high bounce into the stands for a leadoff ground-rule double.

  Jose Altuve scoops up a grounder by Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius to force him out at first base during the fourth inning of Game 3. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle)

  Bird later scored when a Will Harris curveball in the dirt skirted past Gattis and to the backstop. Judge followed with his homer, which closed the book on Morton.

  Morton displayed his usual filthy stuff, particularly early in his outing. In his first meeting with Judge, he reached back for 98 mph on his fastball and struck him out on an 89 mph cutter. He snapped off nasty curveballs to strike out Brett Gardner in the first and Bird in the second.

  Morton’s evening took a turn for the worse with two outs in the second inning. Starlin Castro reached on a dribbler Bregman failed to barehand. Aaron Hicks dunked a single into left-center field. And then Todd Frazier changed the game with surely one of the most unassuming home runs in postseason history.

  On a 95 mph fastball Morton threw down and away, the right-handed hitting Frazier poked it the opposite way to right field. Off the bat, it looked like a pop fly. But as Reddick ran toward the wall, the ball continued to carry. It landed in the seats, with an estimated distance of 365 feet.

  “If you were to show me a video of his swing, the pitch speed and the location, I would have never thought (home run),” said Morton, who added he actually intended to throw the fastball inside. “That was unbelievable. Just a great piece of hitting.”

  Morton worked around a one-out walk of Judge in a scoreless third before disaster struck in the fourth.

  It started with Maybin

  “I was thinking if I dove for it and missed it, it was probably going to be a triple,” he said. “Of course you don’t know it’s going to bounce into the seats. But we talked about it. Just a play where you’re down, I think you’ve just got to take a shot and whatever happens happens.

  “But (it was) just a tough play. You’ve got to just give those guys credit. They did a good job of taking advantage.”

  Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge hits a three-run home run off of Astros relief pitcher Will Harris during the fourth inning of Game 3. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

  After the Bird double, Morton induced a groundout from Castro and a fly out from Hicks on which Bird advanced to third. He then walked Frazier, who scored on a well-placed single by Chase Headley, the first hit of this postseason by a Yankees designated hitter in 29 at-bats. An errant curveball with which Morton hit Gardner loaded the bases for Judge.

  The hit by pitch spelled the end for Morton, whom manager A.J. Hinch replaced with Harris. Harris, who hadn’t pitched since Game 1 of the ALDS on Oct. 5, jumped ahead in the count with a cut fastball before mixing in his first curveball. Gattis failed to block it, and Bird trotted home to give the Yankees a five-run lead.

  “It just got away from me,” Gattis said. “That ball’s got to be blocked.”

  Moments later, the Astros’ deficit reached eight. On Harris’ 2-and-2 pitch, an up-and-in fastball the pitcher called for, Judge sent it on a line over the fence in left field. The homer was Judge’s second of the postseason but his first since the Yankees’ Wild Card Game win over the Minnesota Twins on Oct. 3.

  “That was the pitch I wanted to throw,” Harris said. “I thought I had him set up for it, and I didn’t. He was ready.”

  Poison Pen

  Devenski, Musgrove, Giles Allow 5 Runs, Spoil McCullers’ Gem

  By Jake Kaplan

  American League Championship Series Game 4

  October 17, 2017 • New York City, New York

  Yankees 6, Astros 4

  Another eighth inning. Another bullpen collapse. Another stellar Lance McCullers Jr. start wasted.

  Two Octobers after their nightmarish Game 4 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals, the Astros saw their best relievers melt down yet again in a 6-4 defeat in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees. The stunning loss turned a potential three-games-to-one lead into a 2-2 tie and ensured the best-of-seven series will return to Minute Maid Park for Game 6.

  “The series wasn’t over after two games,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s certainly not over after four.”

  Leading 4-2 after seven innings, the Astros were six outs shy of being a win away from clinching their franchise’s second World Series appearance. A victory would have created the opportunity to close it out at Yankee Stadium with ace lefthander Dallas Keuchel on the mound.

  Instead, they must win two of the
ir next three. After starting Keuchel opposite Masahiro Tanaka in Game 5, they will pitch co-ace Justin Verlander in Game 6, likely opposite Luis Severino. A potential Game 7 would be played Saturday, also at Minute Maid Park.

  In Game 4, McCullers gave the Astros as dominant a performance as they could have expected, especially considering he hadn’t started since Sept. 30 and had started only three times since August. In his second career postseason start – his first came in the aforementioned Game 4 of the ’15 ALDS – he held a dangerous Yankees lineup to one run in six-plus innings.

  Their bullpen rested, the Astros appeared to be in great shape. But their three best relievers, Chris Devenski, Joe Musgrove and Ken Giles, combined to surrender five runs on six hits and two walks while recording just four outs.

  “It’s painful now,” Giles said in the clubhouse after the game. “I let my team down.”

  Musgrove and Giles combined to allow the four runs in the Yankees’ four-run eighth. Giles was on the mound for all four after inheriting two baserunners from Musgrove. The two biggest Yankees swings came from Aaron Judge, who tied the game with a double off the top of the left-field wall, and Gary Sanchez, who cracked a go-ahead two-run double to right-center field.

  Aroldis Chapman closed things down in the top of the ninth for the Yankees. Despite their series-high four runs, the Astros’ major league-best offense still has yet to show up. Through four games, they’re batting a dismal .153 with six extra-base hits in 118 at-bats. They had 18 extra-base hits over their four ALDS games against Boston.