We have a series, folks. The New York Yankees blew out the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS on Monday night at Yankee Stadium 8-1 to halve their series deficit to 2-1.
Most of the offense was generated on two big swings as Todd Frazier and Aaron Judge hit three-run home runs to opposite sides of the outfield while CC Sabathia was as steady as ever on the hill.
Frazier’s blast showed just how strong the New Jersey native is, going down and sending the Charlie Morton second-inning offering 365 feet into the right-field stands with what looked like a flick of the wrists:
The three-run shot with two outs provided more runs for the Yankees in one inning than they had scored in the previous 19.2 frames of the ALCS.
New York broke the game open in the fourth when they put up a five spot while driving Morton out of the game.
With runners on the corner, Chase Headley provided the first hit by a Yankees DH this postseason with a grounder that beat the Houston shift, scoring Greg Bird.
After Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Morton was pulled for Will Harris, who was greeted with the imposing Judge. A wild pitch scored Frazier to make it 5-0 and move everyone else up a base. But it didn’t matter which base they ended up on as Judge launched a line drive into the right-field seats to put the game away early:
Given Judge’s struggles this postseason, the long ball couldn’t have come at a better time for a Yankees team that was in need of all the momentum it could possibly get while trailing in the series.
The Yankees didn’t really need all those runs though considering Sabathia cruised through six innings, allowing just three hits while striking out five.
However, the large lead did allow manager Joe Girardi to rest his marquee relievers like David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman for another night, which is huge considering there are still another two games to play over the next two nights. Adam Warren pitched two scoreless innings to bring things into the ninth, but a shaky ninth inning saw the Astros get on the board.
Dellin Betances walked the only two batters he faced while Tommy Kahnle allowed a single to Cameron Maybin to load the bases before walking George Springer to force in a run. But he managed to get Jose Altuve to ground into a game-ending double play.
Game 4 is slated to begin at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening as the Yankees look to tie this series right back up. Sonny Gray is expected to be on the hill opposite Houston’s Lance McCullers.
