Schadenfreude 332 (A Continuing Series)

YED is three games away!

Yankees - 010 000 010 - 2  5  0
Astros  - 010 002 10x - 4  7  1

Dan Martin, Post:

Here we go again.

The Yankees . . . came to the place where their last two ALCS appearances ended: Minute Maid Park.

This series didn't get off to a promising start either for the Yankees, who dropped this year's ALCS opener, 4-2, on Wednesday.

Justin Verlander shut down the Yankees' offense and Clarke Schmidt and Frankie Montas combined to give up three homers out of the bullpen, as the Astros — who have yet to lose this postseason — pulled away for the victory . . .

Yuli Gurriel hit a go-ahead homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Chas McCormick another solo shot one out later.

Montas gave up a leadoff homer to Jeremy Peña in the seventh to make it 4-1. . . .

[T]he Yankees had their chances to do more against Verlander.

They threatened in the top of the first . . . After Verlander got Gleyber Torres and Judge to start the game, the right-hander drilled Rizzo with an 0-2 pitch and Stanton followed by reaching on a throwing error by Jose Altuve.

But Donaldson went down swinging to end the inning. It was the first of 17 strikeouts by the Yankees. . . .

Rizzo walked and Stanton doubled to right with one out in the third, but Donaldson and Carpenter both whiffed, as Verlander went on to strike out six straight and retire 11 in a row. . . .

It's just the latest postseason defeat in Houston for the Yankees, who have never won a playoff series against the Astros and were 0-3 in the regular season at Minute Maid Park.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

Less than 24 hours before, the Yankees were sipping champagne. Wednesday night, their clubhouse was quiet. In a whirlwind of a day, the Bombers clinched the American League Division Series, flew halfway across the country and found themselves already in the hole in the Championship Series.

The Astros jumped on the Yankees' bullpen Wednesday and Justin Verlander dominated the Bombers lineup for a 4-2 win in Game 1 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park. . . .

Verlander gave up a home run to Harrison Bader in the second inning and worked around traffic in the third, but then he was locked in, retiring the last 14 hitters he faced — striking out 11. . . .

Jameson Taillon was solid . . . [he] went 4.1 innings . . . The Yankees manager thought he had had enough . . . and went to Clarke Schmidt.

[Boone:] "Clarke . . . made some two-strike mistakes" . . .

Those two mistakes ended up in the seats. Yuli Gurriel led off the sixth with a homer off an 0-2 slider and Chas McCormick hit his first career postseason home run off the rookie right-hander. Boone turned to Frankie Montas, who had been shut down with shoulder inflammation on Sept. 6. Montas, making his first postseason appearance as a Yankee . . . gave up a 386-foot shot to Pena in the seventh. 

Brand new ballgame. pic.twitter.com/1QxTy4As1u

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 20, 2022

We have liftoff! A pair of homers puts the @Astros out in front. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/6mnIT7UDyf

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2022

To be frank with you, Jeremy Peña really is him. pic.twitter.com/ucx41ApHla

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 20, 2022

Joel Sherman, Post:

This was the steal game.

The Astros rolled out one substantial advantage from lots of rest to home field to having the likely AL Cy Young winner in Justin Verlander making his 32nd postseason start against Jameson Taillon — a No. 4 starter making his playoff starting debut.

And as lopsided as it all sounds, the Yankees had a chance to steal this game . . . But that didn't happen. . . .

[A]fter asking so much of his main relievers to win a Division Series in five games over Cleveland, Aaron Boone decided to holster them and live with the consequences. He needed Clarke Schmidt and Frankie Montas to come up big. They did not.

And the Yankees lost because an offense that over the first three innings built Verlander's pitch count and put runners in scoring position, could never deliver a meaningful hit beyond a solo homer . . . Sitting at Nos. 5-6 in the order Josh Donaldson and Matt Carpenter were particularly destructive, striking out in seven of their eight plate appearances. . . .

Boone wanted to win Game 1 . . . But he also treated this as a tryout camp.

Giancarlo Stanton was starting in the outfield for the first time since July 21. Carpenter was just plain starting for the first time since Aug. 8. Montas was in a game for the first time since Sept. 16. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, seemingly banished from shortstop, was back starting. Miguel Castro, who did not pitch in the Division Series, resurfaced.

Boone seemed to be trying to assess what he has for this best-of-seven and the answer might be not enough . . .

Strike outs and homers. The Yankees whiffed 17 times. They hit two solo homers. Eighteen of their 22 playoff runs are via homers. . . .

[T]his one was there to be stolen going into Games 2-3-4. There was a chance to suggest this time against the Astros was going to be different. That didn't happen in Game 1.

Jon Heyman, Post:

There are no more dual-purpose trash cans around here. No banging, either, except for the unmistakable sound of bat meeting ball.

These 2022 Astros can hit, they can pitch, and they can play. And to be fair, they are no more than distant cousins to the famous/infamous (depending on your point of view) World Series champion 2017 Astros club best known for signaling pitches via trash can cacophony. . . .

"The most complete team in baseball," one MLB scout called these Astros. . . .

[T]his looks like the best team remaining in this derby, and they provided another reminder of that . . . beating the Yankees 4-2 behind all-time great right-hander Justin Verlander and three solo home runs. . . .

The pitching matchup favored the Astros.

The problem is, a lot favors the Astros. They are just that good.

Someone stop me if they've seen this movie before. In that infamous 2017 season, the Astros were just a bit better . . .

The Astros were just a bit better in 2015, and in 2019, too. . . .

The Yankees [will need] their best effort, a full nine innings of their A game to beat this Astros team that looks for today like the logical choice to go all the way.