The New York Yankees 2019 season ends emphatically after the Houston Astros take Game 6 of the ALCS in a bullpen affair.
- New York Yankees 4 (2-4)
- Houston Astros 6 (4-2)
- ALCS, Game 6, Final, Box Score
- Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
There was no heroic Scott Brosius home run. Joe Girardi didn’t deliver an early-game triple that sent an entire fanbase into a frenzy. The Captain, Derek Jeter, was nowhere to be found when the baseball needed to be flipped to unusually to home plate.
Save for an all-time, gutsy at-bat by DJ LeMahieu that produced a game-tying ninth-inning home run, the 2019 New York Yankees have officially forced old-school fans to once again long for the good ole’ days.
The Houston Astros out-clutched the Yankees in every way not only in Game 6, but they did so for the entirety of the 2019 ALCS. They simply did all the little things.
The bullpen game went to the home team by a final of 6-4 on the strength of a Jose Altuve walk-off dinger.
GO CRAZY, HOUSTON!!! pic.twitter.com/QCOSDExsSV
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 20, 2019
Aroldis Chapman picked up the first two outs only to allow George Springer on with a walk. After falling behind Altuve 2-0, the stud smacked a 2-1 pitch to the left-field stands.
Had the Yanks won, LeMahieu’s at-bat would have gone down as one of the greatest in Yankees history.
If the Yankees win this game, this DJ LeMahieu at-bat will go down in the organization's history as one of the greatest, gutsiest of all-time. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/ata1yUtXQe
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 20, 2019
The Yankees battled from behind all night long.
Yuli Gurriel‘s three-run shot in the first inning off opener Chad Green set the tone early.
Not what the Yankees were hoping for out of Chad Green. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/aGvCSjnYzJ
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 20, 2019
One of the two men (LeMahieu) who imitated an old-school Yankee on this night was Gio Urshela. New York’s surprising third baseman immediately answered the Gurriel gutshot, homering in the second inning.
Gio Urshela cuts the lead in half. Yankees have life. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/yVjEZtNnx8
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) October 20, 2019
Urshela finished 3-for-3 on the night with two runs and that early moonshot.
While the home run certainly dominated the regular season, this series boiled down to the small things.
Aaron Judge continued to not get it done in big spots, including not moving from first-to-third on a Gleyber Torres base knock with one out and finding himself doubled-up after a spectacular Michael Brantley catch in the top of the seventh.
One we'll always remember!! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/ekUIjvMDfs
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 20, 2019
His strikeout with a runner on first ended a fourth-inning that saw the team already cut the deficit to one thanks Urshela. Judge also made the team’s second to last out after the clutch LeMahieu home run.
Houston showcased its superior defensive form all night long. Carlos Correa‘s incredible turn at second base in the eighth-inning finished off a first-and-one-out situation.
Incredibly, the Yankees tallied 10 hits on the night to the Astros six. The home team simply outclassed the road club, out-performing them by way of fielding, baserunning, bullpen pitching, etc.
Didi Gregorius finished with two hits. LeMahieu, Judge, Torres, Brett Gardner and Gary Sanchez all collected one apiece. For the Astros, Alex Bregman collected his team’s other RBI on the night, one collected on a failed double-play in the sixth inning with a tired Tommy Kahnle on the mound. Altuve finished 2-for-4 with three runs and two runs batted in.
The Savages in the Bronx season is officially over. All that’s left is a memory of greater, far precious times that featured clutch play and intangibles that’ll make any baseball purest smile, even Chris Russo.
