The Yankees looked to be getting to Justin Verlander early in game one of the ALCS, forcing the Cy Young candidate to throw 45 pitches in the first two innings, along with a Harrison Bader solo blast, but then the strikeouts came piling on.
Verlander settled in and fanned 11 on the night, including six in a row at one point, and the Yankees struck out a total of 17 times in the 4-2 loss in game one.
Meanwhile, the Astros struck out just twice on the night, while hitting three home runs.
According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the strikeout differential of 15 is the largest in a game in MLB playoff history, while the Yankees’ 17 punchouts were their second most in the playoff game in their history, second only to the 18 they suffered through in game two of the 2020 ALDS.
The Yanks had their chances, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth in Matt Carpenter, who struck out for the fourth time on the night, and two more strikeouts in the ninth made for a quiet inning that put the Yanks behind the ball in the best of seven.
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