Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Bullpen Falters While Offense Vanishes in Series-Opening Loss to Astros

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the ALCS on Wednesday night in Houston.

Max Goodman

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On Tuesday night, the Yankees popped bottles in their clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, letting their hair down after back-to-back wins on the brink of elimination against the Guardians.

Just over 24 hours later, however, New York quietly retreated to its clubhouse at Minute Maid Park in Houston, already down 0-1 in the American League Championship Series. 

Other than two solo home runs, the Yankees were completely outmatched on offense, vanishing with an opportunity to steal home-field advantage away from their top-seeded foe. New York managed just five hits while striking out 17 times in a 4-2 loss. They left seven runners on base, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. 

While Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo both left the yard, their solo shots couldn't make up for a lack of traffic on the bases and a failure to cash in on run-scoring opportunities. 

Josh Donaldson and Matt Carpenter, New York's No. 5 and 6 hitters, combined to go 0-for-7 with seven strikeouts. Donaldson struck out to end a first-inning rally, stranding two runners on base. Both those hitters punched out in the third with two men on. Finally, Carpenter's strikeout with runners on first and second in the eighth inning, with closer Ryan Pressly on the mound, sealed this team's fate. New York went down without a fight in the ninth.

Ageless ace Justin Verlander was magnificent for the home team, striking out 11 over six innings. Just as the right-hander finished his outing, Houston jumped in front, launching three solo home runs to take the lead. Their bullpen handled the rest.

Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon did his job in Game 1 of the ALCS, pitching into the fifth while allowing only one run in his first postseason start. At first the decision to summon righty Clarke Schmidt out of the bullpen in relief of Taillon worked out—Schmidt induced an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fifth, shifting momentum in New York's favor. 

When Yankees manager Aaron Boone stuck with Schmidt in the sixth, Houston took the lead and didn't look back. Yuli Gurriel smacked a go-ahead solo shot to left on an 0-2 pitch. Two batters later, Chas McCormick drilled another solo homer to right field, another two-strike mistake.

Lou Trivino came in to stop the bleeding in the sixth, but Houston added another long ball in the seventh. Frankie Montas—making his first appearance since September 16 (after a shoulder injury) and his first outing out of the bullpen since the 2020 postseason—gave up a solo home run to Jeremy Peña. 

That run turned out to be significant for Houston when Rizzo went deep in the eighth, making it a two-run deficit instead of a one-run game. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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