So far during their ALCS rematch, the Yankees have gone 0-for-Houston. They’re headed back to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Saturday down 2-0 to the Astros. That’s not ideal, but they do have their ace in Gerrit Cole ready to take the mound and shift the momentum back in New York’s direction.
In the aftermath of the Bombers’ 3-2 loss to Houston at Minute Maid Park, I couldn’t help but hear a common theme across multiple people in the clubhouse during postgame press conferences and chats. That theme was hearing excuses — how the Astros were lucky and the Yankees were unlucky.
First, it was about Alex Bregman’s three-run homer, which ended up being the difference in this contest. Here’s what Game 2 starter Luis Severino had to say about it:
"Bregman hit it at 91 mph. That's the only thing I'm gonna say. And Judge hit it at 106 mph and it didn't go out. I don't know, they got lucky"
Yankees can’t seem to figure out why they can’t beat the Astros pic.twitter.com/Vhb8i7Eqbo
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 21, 2022
In addition to those comments, catcher Kyle Higashioka said something similar:
"I think even [Bregman] will admit it, he didn't really hit it well off the bat. But he hit it well enough to get it out"
– Kyle Higashioka on Alex Bregman's 3-run home run pic.twitter.com/gFEXq4x6L0
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 21, 2022
Do Sevy and Higgy have a point? Well, sure they do. As mentioned above, Bregman’s homer had a 91.8 mph exit velocity. Since Statcast was implemented in 2015, this dinger was the fifth-softest hit in the postseason. But still, a home run is a home run, folks. Severino didn’t throw a bad pitch, but it clearly wasn’t good enough.
And, while exit velocity numbers are cool, that doesn’t determine how runs are scored. Speaking of exit velocity, here’s what manager Aaron Boone said about Aaron Judge’s flyout that nearly gave New York an eighth-inning lead:
"I think the roof open kind of killed us. I think it's a 390' [foot] ball."
Aaron Boone thinks the roof open at Minute Maid Park tonight played an impact on Aaron Judge's flyout in the 8th inning pic.twitter.com/ouhUcgIqwN
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 21, 2022
Once again, Statcast tells us Judge’s flyout would’ve been a homer at only one big-league park: Yankee Stadium. Is that unlucky? Yes, but it’s not like the Yankees were playing in different conditions than the Astros. I know people still like talking about Houston’s cheating scandal, but it’s not like the roof was opened in the top half of innings and closed in the bottom half.
As legendary radio broadcaster John Sterling would say, “That’s baseball, Suzyn.”
In all of the postgame answers I saw from Yankee players on Thursday night, Judge was the only one to give the appropriate answer:
"Not with the way the wind was playing. I hit it to the wrong part of the park for sure"
Aaron Judge didn't think the fly ball he hit in the 8th inning was going to be a home run pic.twitter.com/CS08EqYTMG
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 21, 2022
It just feels like they’re reaching a little bit here, right? That’ll happen when you start feeling your backs against the wall. But this is New York, folks. Even if you feel this way and it’s true, people don’t want to hear about how Judge’s fly ball would’ve been a homer if the roof was closed. They also don’t want to hear about how the exit velocity on Bregman’s homer was much lower than Judge’s.
Yankee fans want to see results. Winning October baseball games requires skill and a little good fortune here or there. It’s not like the Astros didn’t find ways to dominate New York, though.
Yankee hitters struck out another 13 times in Game 2. That brings their total strikeouts so far in the ALCS to an astonishing 30, compared to nine hits. It’s incredibly hard to score runs when the ball isn’t getting put in play consistently. That’s especially the case in the postseason.
Are the Yankees toast? Some may think so, but their next three games (if they can win at least one) are at home in the Bronx, and Cole is on the mound for Game 3. New York knows what has to happen to get back into this series. They just need to go and get it done before it’s too late.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
