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No one expected the bats to be what failed the Yankees in the postseason.
All year, we heard constantly about how this was one of the most feared lineups in the history of the sport. And it was, for a time. This murderer’s row of a batting order would’ve set the record for most home runs in a season if the Twins hadn’t hit one more than they did.
But as push has come to shove in the American League Championship Series, those same sluggers haven’t been able to get it done. It has likely cost the team its season.
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Images That wasn’t the case.
Masahiro Tanaka was stellar in Game 1, and he wasn’t bad in Game 4, either. James Paxton and Luis Severino had their issues, but the Astros scored just three and four runs, respectively, in those contests
Tanaka’s one poor inning was the third on Thursday. The first five hitters up reached base, and one hanging pitch was hit into the left-field seats by George Springer for a three-run homer.
But Tanaka actually did very well to escape that inning with only the three runs allowed, and he settled down significantly after that. It felt like the Yankees had dodged a major bullet. The Astros could’ve blown the game open, but they didn’t, and surely Aaron Boone’s “savages” would start getting their usual supply of runs up onto the scoreboard.
Again, that wasn’t the case.
The Yankees just couldn’t keep themselves from striking out in big spots with runners in scoring position. Clutch hitting was something they’d done so well in the regular season and in the AL Division Series, but that skill wasn’t anywhere to be seen Thursday night.
In the first inning, it was the slumping Gary Sanchez who produced a horrendous at-bat that ended with a flailing strikeout. That allowed Houston starter Zack Greinke to get out of a treacherous first inning having only allowed one run.
In the third inning, it was Edwin Encarnacion’s turn to look helpless at the plate to end the frame. The Yankees couldn’t capitalize on Tanaka’s resurgence and were retired in order in the fourth.
The fatal blow in terms of offensive inefficiency came in the fifth inning. The Yankees had the bases loaded with one out, trailing 3-1. Gleyber Torres has been one of the best clutch hitters in the game this year, but he went down on strikes. Then Encarnacion heard boos from Yankee Stadium after chasing a ball in the dirt to follow Torres’ lead, ending the inning.
That failure precluded what would turn out to be the dagger inning from Houston.
Chad Green came in for Tanaka after a fluke of an infield hit from Alex Bregman. Green gave up a single and then hung a pitch that Carlos Correa happily deposited over the fence.
It was another backbreaking three-run home run. The regular season Yankees would’ve scoffed at a 6-1 deficit as something they could overturn in a couple of innings, but the offensive spark required to pull off a comeback like that was long gone. Instead, the Bronx Bombers had gone colder than the chilly October night.
There was almost a respite in the bottom of that fifth. Sanchez finally had a positive moment when he took Josh James deep for a two-run shot. DJ LeMahieu then reached second via a ground-rule double, and it felt like a trademark big inning from the Yankees might have been in the works.
But again, a typically reliable hitter couldn’t produce. Aaron Judge struck out, and that was the last Yankees threat of the night.
The wheels came off on offense, and they came off on defense, too. The Yankees’ fielders were embarrassingly sloppy as the debilitating loss became more and more of a reality.
Any hopes of a late-game rally were extinguished as three of New York’s four errors contributed to Houston tacking on two more runs to put the game, and likely the series, out of reach. It was the most errors the franchise has had in a playoff game since 1976, and it only further soured the mood inside the stadium.
Yankees hitters and fielders were booed off the diamond more times than I could count, and they can’t really have too many complaints about that.
The “savages” haven’t done nearly enough savaging. Game 1 is the only exception, but Game 1 is essentially irrelevant at this point after three consecutive losses.
Game 4 got ugly, but the opportunity was there, as it was in Games 2 and 3, to build on the advantage gained from the series-opening victory. Those opportunities were squandered, not because inconsistent starting pitchers couldn’t keep things close, but because consistent Bronx Bombers suddenly found themselves missing all their targets.