|
Valdez overcame his defensive miscue and twirled seven strong
innings, Alex Bregman socked a three-run home run and the Astros
fended off the Yankees 3-2 in Game 2 of the American League
Championship Series.
Houston will take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series to the
Bronx for Game 3 on Saturday.
Valdez (1-0) allowed two unearned runs on four hits and no walks
while recording nine strikeouts. He produced a season-high 25
swings and misses while throwing 101 pitches, 73 for strikes.
The left-hander committed two errors on the same play in the
fourth inning, helping the Yankees slice a 3-0 deficit to one
run, but he was almost flawless over his final three innings.
After Astros right-handers Justin Verlander, Hector Neris,
Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly combined for 17 strikeouts in
the series opener, Yankees batters fanned 13 times against
Valdez, Bryan Abreu and Pressly in Game 2.
"The good thing is when we did need the ball in play in a
run-scoring situation, we were able to do that," Yankees manager
Aaron Boone said, "so take a little bit from that. We got to
score. You know ... the idea ain't just to touch it. You got to
touch it in situations.
"We got to score. They're about as tough as there is to score
against. But we got to figure out a way and it takes all of us
from a game plan standpoint to every guy in that lineup just
doing their part to make it a little more difficult on 'em."
The Yankees' one display of offensive prowess came in the
fourth. After allowing a leadoff single to Aaron Judge, Valdez
induced a routine comebacker from Giancarlo Stanton. However,
instead of initiating a timely double play and likely
maintaining his three-run lead, Valdez stumbled fielding the
grounder and then compounded that error by throwing wildly to
first base, enabling Judge and Stanton to advance into scoring
position with no outs.
The Yankees sliced the deficit to 3-2 without the ball leaving
the infield. Judge scored on an RBI groundout from Anthony Rizzo
before Gleyber Torres plated Stanton with an infield single to
short. Visibly perturbed by his gaffe, Valdez hunkered down and
dominated the rest of the way.
Valdez struck out Josh Donaldson and Kyle Higashioka to close
the fourth. He retired Judge on a fly ball after Harrison Bader
reached on a two-out single in the fifth. Bader was the last
batter to reach against Valdez, who struck out the side, all
swinging, in the seventh to cap his outing.
"I think in that moment I got a little bit too confident with
that ground ball and I didn't get anybody out," Valdez said.
"Obviously, those two runs scored, but thankfully I was able to
get locked in again, get out of that inning and continue
pitching and do a good job."
Bregman staked Houston to the lead with his 360-foot blast to
left field off Yankees starter Luis Severino (0-1) in the third,
plating Martin Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez. Bregman posted his
14th career postseason homer, the most in major league history
for a third baseman.
Severino yielded three runs on five hits and a walk in 5 1/3
innings. He struck out six.
In addition to their stellar pitching, the Astros continue to
thrive on offense courtesy of the long ball. Houston bashed
three solo home runs in its 4-2 victory on Wednesday. The
Astros' three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners in the AL
Division Series was highlighted by homers from Yuli Gurriel,
Bregman and Yordan Alvarez in Game 1, Kyle Tucker and Alvarez in
Game 2, and a solo blast from rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena in
the top of the 18th inning in the series clincher.
"You hate to live and die by the home run, but you'll take 'em
when you get 'em," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "You don't
see many rallies with three or four hits in a row, period.
That's the same way during the regular season. I mean, it's a
different game now."
--Field Level Media
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
