By Canadian Press

Astros power past Yanks for 3-1 ALCS lead, Verlander up next

Oct 17, 2019 | 10:43 PM

NEW YORK — George Springer and Carlos Correa each hit three-run homers and the Houston Astros got another wild ace off the hook to beat the sloppy New York Yankees 8-3 Thursday night and reach the cusp of a second World Series visit in three years.

The Astros lead the AL Championship Series 3-1, putting the 2017 World Series winners on the brink of a showdown with the NL champion Washington Nationals.

Houston still has Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole queued up for this series, and the Yankees will have to beat both to survive. Verlander will start Game 5 on Friday night against James Paxton.

New York worked starter Zack Greinke hard during a 28-pitch first inning, but just like with Cole in Game 3, the clutch hit never came. Many fans had left Yankee Stadium by the time it ended shortly before 12:30 a.m.

The Yankees are at risk of failing to make the World Series for an entire decade for the first time since the 1910s.

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The 103-win Yankees are 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position the past two games. Didn’t help when they committed four errors in Game 4, most ever for the club in a home post-season game.

Springer lined an errant splitter from playoff star Masahiro Tanaka in the third inning for his homer, and Correa battered Chad Green’s fastball when New York turned to its vaunted bullpen. Those All-Star sluggers have combined for just five hits in the series, but four have been homers.

Tanaka allowed four runs — three earned — for New York, his most in eight post-season starts.

CC Sabathia pitched in relief for New York but was pulled with an injury during the eighth inning. Planning to retire after the season, an emotional Sabathia covered his face with his glove as he left the field for perhaps the final time. Fans shouted his name as he walked off, and Cole and Springer were among the Houston players who stood and clapped for the 39-year-old.

Gary Sánchez ended a lengthy post-season slide with a two-run homer, but a reshuffled Yankees lineup — still without injured Giancarlo Stanton — again couldn’t string together its damage.

During warmups, a buzzing Bronx crowd jeered Greinke with chants of “Donald! Donald!” — his given first name — and the veteran right-hander wobbled early. He walked three in the first inning for the first time since April 2007, including a four-pitch, bases-loaded free pass to Brett Gardner, and fell into a quick 1-0 hole.

Greinke struggled especially to locate his fastball before blowing one past Sánchez during a three-pitch K to end the inning. He sharpened up and retired nine straight before the Yankees pushed him out of the game while loading the bases in the fifth.

Ryan Pressly struck out Gleyber Torres — on a tight check swing — and Edwin Encarnación to escape.

Greinke was charged with just one run, working around four walks against the patient-but-punchless Yankees. Cole pitched seven scoreless innings despite five walks in Game 3.

Tanaka helped shut out the Astros in Game 1 but tripped up against Springer in the rematch. The Japanese right-hander left one of his signature splitters in the middle of the plate, and Springer smoked a low line drive that cleared the fence in left-centre.

Springer is batting .132 in these playoffs, slumping just like he did in 2017 before breaking out to win World Series MVP. This homer was his 13th in the post-season, snapping a tie with teammate Jose Altuve for the club record.

The Astros missed a chance to pile on that same inning. Altuve and Michael Brantley followed Springer’s drive with two hits and a nifty baserunning play, putting runners at second and third with one out. Brantley was held at third on a potential sacrifice fly hit to right fielder Aaron Judge, and Tanaka got struggling Yordan Álvarez on a popup to end that threat.

Correa gave Houston its big cushion in the sixth, making it 6-1 with his drive. At 25 years, 25 days, he is the youngest player with 10 post-season home runs, surpassing Albert Pujols.

Correa ended Game 2 with a home run in the 11th inning, and connected again in October after missing a lot of time this year with injuries.

Sánchez snapped a 2-for-23 skid to start this post-season with his two-run homer in the sixth. He reached out for Josh James’ 98 mph fastball off the outside edge of the strike zone and pulled it into the seats in left-centre.

Otherwise, the AL East champion Yankees looked like they belonged in a lesser league.

Sure-handed first baseman DJ LeMahieu booted two groundballs, Torres also made two errors at second, and reliever Adam Ottavino was pulled before getting an out for the fourth time in seven appearances this post-season.

Hoping to save something in the bullpen after Wednesday’s rainout squeezed the rest of the series schedule, manager Aaron Boone used six relievers to cover four innings.

GOOD TRADES

Altuve intentionally ran into a rundown between third and home on Alex Bregman’s grounder in the third inning. By giving himself up, Altuve left time for Brantley to sprint from first to third and for Bregman to reach second. Springer executed the same rundown play from third in Game 3 on instructions from manager AJ Hinch.

OVERRULED

Judge, already with more diving catches than home runs this month, added another sprawling grab. He laid out for Brantley’s line drive in right-centre to end the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Stanton has missed the past three games after straining his right quad in Game 1. He ran on the field before the game, and Boone said he felt better for the first time since getting hurt. Boone said Stanton was available to pinch hit and could be New York’s designated hitter Friday.

UP NEXT

Paxton said he watched tape from his Game 2 start and insists he wasn’t tipping pitches. Houston grinded him out of the game after 2 1/3 innings. Verlander pitched two-run ball into the seventh, the only damage coming on Judge’s two-run homer.

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Jake Seiner, The Associated Press