“I didn’t think we would play that well”, Keuchel said in a televised post-game interview.
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This was surely not what they all envisioned, back at the giddy press conferences or over filet mignon at the recruiting dinners, where they doubtless dreamed of long October runs and postseason glory. It was routine out in the middle of the eighth inning, and there was a growing sense that Yankee Stadium had seen this game before. And after a 1-2-3 fifth – Tanaka’s first truly dominant inning since the first -Girardi turned the game over to his most trusted relievers for the final four innings.
It was a rough night for two men who are supposed to be among the cornerstones of these Yankee years.
Ellsbury batted. 220 in the second half this season and is 2-for-7 against the left-handed Keuchel in his career, while Gardner is 0-for-4.
“We’ll celebrate accordingly”, he said. “You can’t win a game if you don’t score any runs”.
The team’s renewal had the Astros projected by Sports Illustrated to win the 2017 World Series.
Young was 6-for-20 against Keuchel lifetime and had crushed lefties this year.
On Sunday in Baltimore Ellsbury and Gardner 0-for-10.
Cashman insisted there was nothing physically wrong with Ellsbury.
“It was a disappointing outcome and now it’s all over”, Tanaka said. “But nobody’s fighting through anything more than the daily grind of playing”.
Before the game even began, a few troll on Twitter by the name of “Bill Smith” mentioned Keuchel and apologized for the Astros having to lose to the Yankees. “This is the decision I came to, and in the end I’m the one who has to live with it”. “He had the better season, so we went with Gardy”. Among the players swept by Detroit in the 2012 AL Championship Series, only two appeared against the Astros: center fielder Brett Gardner and designated hitter Alex Rodriguez.
He underwent an MRI exam Wednesday that came back negative and would have played if the Yankees had advanced to the ALDS, but his effectiveness had already been impacted by other injuries throughout the season. New York had just three hits, all singles. As for Rasmus, there was something flawless about his blow on the first pitch of the second inning, the first run scored in the first playoff victory ever for Jeff Luhnow as general manager.
Would’ve been nice to find out, though.
A three-year letterwinner for Arkansas, Keuchel went 9-3 with a 3.92 ERA for the Razorbacks in 2009. Not only that, but the Yankees had their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, on the mound in the exact situation they brought him over from Japan for.
New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was left hurt but proud after his team’s season ended on Tuesday. And he’d better, because the team owes him $111 million over the next five years. But, they were able to do it and after winning Tuesday night, the road to the fall classic is officially underway.
Colby Rasmus hit a home run in the second inning, while Carlos Gomez homered in the fourth.
Keuchel’s 4 scoreless innings sent him 22 innings on the Yankees as easy gifts without any need of letting a flow.
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“It’s hard not to get up for a game like this”, Keuchel said of pitching on short rest.
