Halfway through the six-month regular season in early July, the Yankees were on pace to break a huge record.
The 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners both had 116 victories during the regular season, making them the two most successful teams in Major League Baseball history. The Yankees were approaching position 119.
Yankees Season Concludes In The ALCS, As The Astros Moves To The World Series!
After that, their charming season ended. Health, performance, and victory were all successful in the first half but failed in the second.
The Yankees bounced back in September, won the American League East, and concluded the regular season with 99 victories in early October, but they weren’t the same going into the postseason.
The Houston Astros completed a four-game sweep of New York in the AL Championship Series with a 6-5 victory on Sunday night, helped by yet another defensive blunder by the Yankees.
Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman both had big hits in the victory. For the second World Series, the Astros are qualified and will play.
The Astros produced the winning rally in the seventh inning by taking advantage of a costly error by the second baseman Gleyber Torres, giving them their second consecutive pennant and fourth in six years.
Injured Yankees starter Nestor Cortes was faced by rookie shortstop Jeremy Pea, who blasted a three-run home run off him to help the AL West champions overturn an early 3-0 lead. The ALCS MVP was chosen to be Pea.
The Phillies became the first third-place team in baseball history to make it to the World Series this year because the playoff field was increased to 12 teams.
Under manager Dusty Baker, seven games better than any other American League team, Bregman and the Astros finished 106-56. Philadelphia finished the regular season with a record of 87-75.
The 73-year-old Baker is still searching for his first championship as bench boss as he enters his third World Series in 25 seasons as a major league manager. He had some success playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The AL East champion New York was once again no match for the Astros in October after soaring to a 61-23 record in early July.
Overall this season, Houston had a 9-2 record versus the Yankees and had four playoff series victories over them in the previous eight years, including the ALCS in 2017 and 2019.
In fact, New York hasn’t won a pennant since earning its 27th World Series triumph in 2009 and has lost in four of its last five trips to the AL Championship Series.
The Yankees made their sixth mistake in this postseason, and in Game 3 they also handed the Astros a crucial advantage.
After Gold Glove outfielder Bader dropped a fly ball with two outs when he nearly collided with Aaron Judge in right-center field, New York starter Gerrit Cole allowed Chas McCormick to blast a two-run home run to start the game.
With superb relief, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly closed the door.
The Astros rushed out of the dugout for jubilant hugs and handshakes on the infield after Pressly retired Judge on a comebacker for his third save of the series.
At a virtually empty Yankee Stadium, behind the team’s third base dugout, a mob of orange-clad Houston supporters screamed “sweep! sweep!” afterward.
The Yankees, on the other hand, weren’t leaving that lightly. When Maldonado failed to catch a pitch, Bader singled and advanced to second base.
As a result, Bader was able to score in the fourth inning to tie the score at 4-4 when Rizzo smashed a curveball into center field.
In the seventh inning, the Yankees blew it. Judge grounded out two innings later, ending the Yankees’ season in what might have been his final at-bat with the team.
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