Verlander Ks 11 to lead Astros over Yankees 4-2 in ALCS

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings and Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña all homered to power the Houston Astros past the New York Yankees 4-2 in their AL Championship Series opener Wednesday night.

The Astros are in their sixth consecutive ALCS, looking to reach the World Series for the fourth time in that span, against a New York team in the LCS for the first time since being eliminated by Houston in 2019.

The game was tied 1-all in the sixth when Gurriel connected off reliever Clarke Schmidt on a solo shot to the seats in left field to put Houston on top. Two batters later, McCormick sent a sinker from Schmidt into right field to make it 3-1.

Verlander set a major league record with the eighth double-digit strikeout game of his postseason career and passed Clayton Kershaw (213) to become the all-time leader in strikeouts in the playoffs with 219.

“I thought early we had our chances. I don’t think he was real sharp early, but then he kind of dialed it in,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He started really executing, staying away from trouble. I thought he spun the ball really well.”

New York whiffed 17 times in all to only two for the Astros — the largest difference ever in a postseason game.

“They’re obviously really dynamic,” Boone said. “Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ’em. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.”

Peña, whose 18th-inning home run completed a sweep of the Mariners in the ALDS, belted a homer off Frankie Montas to start the seventh and extend the lead to 4-1. Montas was pitching for the first time since Sept. 16 because of a shoulder injury that kept him off the Division Series roster.

Anthony Rizzo homered off Rafael Montero with two outs in the eighth to get the Yankees within two. Giancarlo Stanton singled before Josh Donaldson walked, spurring Astros manager Dusty Baker to bring in closer Ryan Pressly.

He struck out Matt Carpenter to end the inning and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to get the four-out save.

Carpenter, back recently from a broken foot, fanned all four times up.

After struggling in Game 1 of the ALDS against Seattle, Verlander looked shaky early in this one, giving up a second-inning homer to Harrison Bader that put the Yankees up 1-0. It was Bader’s fourth home run in six playoff games — his first four long balls with New York.

But the Astros tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Martín Maldonado.

The Astros had a few days off after eliminating Seattle on Saturday. The Yankees dealt with a quick turnaround after winning a rain-postponed Game 5 over the Guardians at home Tuesday before heading to Houston.

They had runners at second and third with one out in the third after a double by Stanton, but Verlander struck out Donaldson and Carpenter to escape the jam.

Those were the first of six consecutive strikeouts for Verlander, which matched a postseason record. It’s the second time he’s tied the mark after also fanning six in a row in Game 3 of the 2013 ALCS while pitching for Detroit.

Verlander didn’t allow a baserunner after the third inning, retiring his last 11 batters in a row with nine strikeouts. When he struck out Carpenter to end the sixth, he pumped his fist and yelled before trotting off the field to a huge ovation from the mostly orange-clad home crowd.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner and nine-time All-Star allowed three hits and one run in his 32nd postseason start, 11th in a series opener. It was his first playoff win since 2019.

Peña doubled twice before his homer to give him seven hits this postseason. His three extra-base hits equaled a rookie record for a postseason game.

The clutch performance by Peña, who took over for Carlos Correa at shortstop this season, has helped the Astros this October as superstar Jose Altuve has struggled.

“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of,” Peña said about his first postseason. “The environment, the fans, the crowd, the preparation that goes into every game. It’s fun.”

Altuve, a three-time batting champion, went 0 for 3 with a walk to fall to 0 for 19 this postseason.

Stanton played left field with Aaron Hicks out for the rest of the postseason with a sprained knee he sustained in an outfield collision Tuesday. It was Stanton’s first appearance in the field since July 21 and his rust showed early when he couldn’t grab a fly ball that Peña hit for a double in the first.

New York starter Jameson Taillon walked Yordan Alvarez after that, but Aaron Judge robbed Bregman of a hit and saved at least one run and maybe more when he made a diving catch in right field for the second out of the inning.

Taillon yielded four hits and a run in 4 1/3 innings.

Judge was 0 for 4 with a strikeout after hitting his second home run of the postseason Tuesday.

PETTIS OUT

Astros third base coach Gary Pettis was out because of an illness. First base coach Omar Lopez filled in for Pettis, and quality control coach Dan Firova coached first.

CLEMENS RETURNS

Roger Clemens, who pitched for both the Yankees and Astros in a 24-year career that included a record seven Cy Young Awards, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

He stepped a couple of feet in front of the rubber before throwing a perfect strike to Houston starter Lance McCullers.

“Every time I get out there, he looks further and further (away),” the 60-year-old Clemens said. “So, I’m just glad it made it there.”

Asked for a prediction on the series, Clemens didn’t give any insight into who he’s pulling for this week.

“I think it’s going to go to seven games,” he said. “And that’s it.”

UP NEXT

Houston’s Framber Valdez (0-0, 3.18 ERA) opposes Luis Severino (0-0, 4.76) when the series continues Thursday night. Valdez allowed four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings in Game 2 of the ALDS but did not factor in the decision.

Severino also didn’t factor in the decision in his last start when he yielded eight hits and three runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 6-5 win by Cleveland in Game 3 of the Division Series.

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