The Houston Astros won Game 2 of the American League Championship Series and now hold a comfy 2-0 advantage over the New York Yankees as the teams head to the Bronx to play Games 3 and 4 and, if it becomes necessary, Game 5.
The Astros got all three runs on an Alex Bregman home run that left the bat at 91 mph.
In the top of the eighth, Aaron Judge hit what looked like a home run off the bat to right field, but his 106-mph drive was caught by Kyle Tucker at the wall.
Marly Rivera of ESPN talked to manager Aaron Boone and ace Gerrit Cole about the play.
The former talked about the open roof affecting the well-hit ball.
On the Judge ball, Boone said: “I think the roof open kind of killed us.”
Cole, however, wanted nothing to do with excuses.
“Gerrit Cole: ‘Some dicey fly balls, wind affected a couple of them, but — it doesn’t affect line drives up the middle, you know? So the deciding factor was just a little bit more pressure from the opposition and a striking blow… and we came up just short.’ #Yankees #postseason,” Rivera tweeted, with Cole’s impressions of the play.
Gerrit Cole: "Some dicey fly balls, wind affected a couple of them, but — it doesn't affect line drives up the middle, you know? So the deciding factor was just a little bit more pressure from the opposition and a striking blow… and we came up just short." #Yankees #postseason https://t.co/CTJrlpB5KV
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) October 21, 2022
The Yankees Need To Start Hitting, Period
If there was no rain forecast, the Astros had absolutely no reason to play with the roof closed.
It shouldn’t even be an argument.
Sometimes, luck plays a role in postseason baseball.
But the biggest factor behind the Astros victory was the fact that they could put 10 runners on base via walks or hits compared to the Yankees’ six.
At some point, they were going to find their big break and did it with Bregman’s blast.
It may not have been too hard, but it was well-placed, and that was enough with the way Framber Valdez and Houston’s relievers were pitching.
In fact, the Yankees were in a position to score thanks to two Valdez errors: otherwise, they would have probably lost 3-1 or 3-0.
At some point, they need to hold their offense accountable.
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