Astros shut out Yankees 3-0 in AL wild card game - The Houston Astros went into Yankee Stadium and dominated New York 3-0 behind the stellar pitching of Dallas Keuchel to win the one-game AL wild card matchup and end the Yankees’ season.
Though pitching on three days rest for the first time in his career, Keuchel was nearly unhittable, giving up just three hits in his six innings pitched. In two regular season games against the Yankees, Keuchel had pitched 16 innings of scoreless ball, and this Wild Card game was more of the same.
Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez both hit solo home runs to give Keuchel all the support he would need.
The Astros had been one of baseball’s worst teams the past few years, losing 111 games just two years ago. They clinched their spot in today’s winner-take-all AL wild card game on the last day of the regular season.
“Nobody really gave us anything at the start of the year,” said Keuchel following the victory. “And I don’t think anybody gave us a shot at the end of the year.”
Keuchel was the only American League pitcher to win 20 games this year, and is a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award.
The Yankee Stadium crowd was raucous from the start, but the young Astros certainly didn’t look intimidated.
Rasmas tagged Yankee pitcher Masahiro Tanaka’s first pitch of the second inning for a long homer to deep right field for a 1-0 lead. Gomez hit his first pitch of the fourth inning into the seats for a 2-0 Houston lead.
Jose Altuve increased the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the seventh off reliever Dellin Betances.
The Yankees’ best chance to score came in the sixth inning when they got two singles and had Alex Rodriguez at the plate, but Keuchel got him to fly out to center field to end the threat.
The Astros’ bullpen pitched lights-out ball, and the boos from the New York crowd grew in the ninth with each out as Luke Gregerson closed for the save.
Houston now advances to the division series against the Kansas City Royals, the defending AL champions, starting Thursday night in Kansas City.