The Yankees are bring peashooters to their rivalry with the Astros.
WFAN legend Mike Francesa did not mince words after the Bronx Bombers were swept in Thursday’s doubleheader in Houston. The pair of wins gave the Astros a 5-2 edge in the now-completed season series. It also pulled them to within two games of the Yankees for the best record in the American League (and home field advantage in the postseason).
“The Yanks don’t scare the Astros even one, little bit,” Francesa tweeted.
And why would they? The Astros are, after all, the Yankees’ daddy over the last seven years. They’ve beaten the Bombers in October three times in that span — the 2015 wild card game and the 2017 and ’19 ALCS. And they almost swept the season series this year, The Yankees’ only two wins were walk-off triumph.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone bristled a bit when reminded of these facts.
“I understand it’s a big story,” he told reporters after the second game of the twin bill. “I understand the season we’re in. It’s not going to matter unless (it’s) October. If we happen to come back here in October we’re going to show up. We’re going to expect to win. We think we’re really good. They’re really good. Don’t overstate this.”
That’s fine. Of course they expect to win. But the Yankees have done nothing to instill confidence in anyone else. What reason is there to believe they can flip a switch and finally take down the Astros besides faith. They have lost to this team three times to the postseason. They have not been to a World Series in over a decade. And this Houston team has proven it can win in October, whether it is cheating or not. And the big guy is right: The Astros are clearly not afraid of the Yankees.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
