The Astros won on Tuesday night to get to 82 wins on the season, further solidifying their spot atop the American League West.
Houston still has their concerns, including Justin Verlander, but Keith McPherson still wants no part of that group during what he hopes is a long playoff run for the Yankees.
“If I have a chance to face the Astros in the ALDS or ALCS, I’d like to opt out of that,” Keith said, who has had a close-up look at the lopsided rivalry since the 2015 American League Wild Card Game.
“I knew back then, with Masahiro Tanaka on the mound versus Dallas Keuchel, that the Astros were gonna be a thorn in our side,” Keith said.
The October dominance continued in 2017 with a seven-game ALCS win for the Astros, a championship season that was tainted by the sign-stealing scandal that rocked baseball. Keith doesn’t believe the Astros would try to play fair if they face the Yanks again.
“You know they have some kind of edge in Houston,” Keith said. “They’re gonna find some way to cheat when the lights are shining the brightest.
“For any Yankee fan to call in and talk tough, I don’t know where that bravado comes from.”