New York Yankees: Taking a look at the Astros pitching for a potential ALCS matchup
In 2017 the New York Yankees and Houston Astros faced off in an ALCS that Houston went onto win in seven games. Fast forward to 2019, and it looks as if the Yankees will have a chance at revenge.
Three teams in the MLB have separated themselves from the rest this year, the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Two of those teams (the Yankees and Astros) are in the American League and have somewhat of history against each other lately.
Barring an ALDS upset for either of the two teams it looks as if we will get to see these two play for a World Series berth in October. The question is, how does that series set up for the Yankees if they were to play against the Astros?
Unlike the Yankees, the Astros made a huge move at the trade deadline which set them up with arguably the best pitching staff in the league. The Astros traded for Zack Greinke who has been great this season, holding a 12-4 win-loss record, 2.91 ERA and 0.981 WHIP.
When you add Greinke to the Astros pitching staff that is already very strong, you have a pitching staff that will strike fear in every team they face. Not only that but having to face each of these pitchers twice in a seven-game series is something that could be very problematic for any team.
The good news is, when healthy the Yankees probably have the best lineup from one-to-nine in the MLB, but how will they fare against this Houston pitching staff?
The Yankees have faced Greinke twice this season, in the first game back in April, the Yankees scored only once with five hits and seven strikeouts in a 3-1 loss, but when they played him the second time in July, the Yankees had two hits, two runs and forced Torey Lovullo’s hand and he pulled Greinke after five innings.
The Astros other two fantastic pitchers, Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole are both in the AL Cy Young conversation and have faced the Yankees a combined three times this season.
In those three games, the Yankees have combined for 15 hits, nine runs, 21 strikeouts, and three losses. Those three games don’t exactly give the Yankees hope, but in each of those three games, the Yankees were without key players.
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That being said, if the Yankees are nearly at full health, they will have a much better opportunity to get past the Astros and into the World Series.