New York Yankees Recap: Keuchel Stifles Yankees Bats in Wild Card Game
Tonight the New York Yankees (87-75) and Houston Astros (86-76) kicked off the 2015 MLB Post-Season with the American League Wild Card Game. Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA) on an extra days rest faced off against Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA) on three days rest for the first time in his career. It was a pair of playoff debut’s for both pitchers, yet a majority of the pre-game news centered on the Yankees decision to keep Jacoby Ellsbury out of the starting lineup.
Non the less, October baseball was back in the Bronx where it belongs, and Yankee stadium was electrifying during the pre-game National Anthem.
With the crowd living and dying on every pitch like a true playoff atmosphere, Tanaka worked a huge 1-2-3 first inning, striking out Jose Altuve and George Springer and getting the 21-year old Carlos Correa to pop out to center to end the inning.
Dallas Keuchel started off his night with a strikeout to Brett Gardner. Chris Young worked a walk and Carlos Beltran advanced him into scoring position with an infield ground out. With a two-outs and Chris Young on second base, Alex Rodriguez stepped into the batter box, but Keuchel managed to strike him out looking to end the inning on what looked like a pitch that was high and outside.
Colby Rasmus took the Yankees crowd out early with a bomb of a home run on the first pitch he saw from Tanaka to start the second inning. Evan Gattis launched the following pitch to the warning track, but Gardner made a great leaping catch for the first out of the inning. On the third pitch of the inning, Carlos Gomez grounded out sharply to Chase Headley for the second out of the inning. Luis Valbuena worked a two-out single and Chris Carter and Jason Castro followed that up with back-to-back walks. With two outs and the bases loaded Tanaka managed to get Jose Altuve to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning, but the Astros took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second.
Brian McCann led off the bottom of the second inning with a ground out into the shift after the home plate umpire gave Keuchel two called strikes that were so bad that even John Kruk agreed they were strikes on ESPN. Chase Headley became the third Yankees hitter to strike out looking for the second out of the inning. Rookie Gregory Bird managed to work a two-out single for the Yankees first hit of the ball game, but Rob Refsnyder grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Avon Old Farms alum George Springer led off the top of the third with a double that was launched over the head of Brett Gardner. But Tanaka rebounded by getting the Astros three, four and five hitters out via a Carlos Correa ground out to Chase Headley, a Colby Rasmus pop out to Chris Young and with two outs and Springer in scoring position, Tanaka managed to get Evan Gattis to ground out on a dribbler that Chase Headley made a great bare-handed play on to end the inning.
Dallas Keuchel tossed a 13-pitch 1-2-3 third inning after getting Didi Gregorius to pop out on a lazy pop fly to shallow left and back-to-back strikeouts to Brett Gardner and Chris Young.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead when Carlos Gomez hit another lead-off solo home run, again on the first pitch of the inning. Tanaka regrouped by getting Luis Valbuena to strike out, but Chris Carter followed that up with a one-out walk. Fortunately Tanaka induced an inning-ending double play to escape further damage.
After working a full-count, Carlos Beltran became the sixth strikeout victim of the ballgame for Dallas Keuchel to start the Yankees half of the fourth inning. George Springer took a double away from Alex Rodriguez by chasing a line-drive into the corner and making a great running catch to haul it in. Brian McCann lined out weakly to end another 1-2-3 inning for Keuchel, who tossed just 62 pitches through the first four innings of tonight’s ball game.
The Astros started the fifth inning with the top of their order, and Jose Altuve grounded out to Headley. Springer grounded to short and Gregorius showed tremendous range by making a Derek Jeter-esque play to get the speedy outfielder hustling down the line. Carlos Correa sent a ‘can o’ corn’ into the glove of Carlos Beltran to end the top of the fifth, and that would be the last we saw of Tanaka, who exited the ball game after 5.0 innings pitched, giving up four hits and two earned runs via the long ball while walking three and striking out three.
In the bottom of the fifth Keuchel continued to dominate, retiring Chase Headley, Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder in order, upping his total to 10-straight retired batters since giving up a second inning single to Greg Bird.
Justin Wilson kicked things off to start the sixth inning by surrendering a lead-off walk to Colby Rasmus, but rebounded well to get Evan Gattis to ground into a double play and Carlos Gomez to ground out to short to end their half of the sixth.
Didi Gregorius led off the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff single that was just out of the reach of Jose Altuve, and the Yankees finally had the lead-off runner on board for the first time in the ball game, but Brett Gardner followed that up with his third strikeout of the night, and one has to wonder why Gardner didn’t lay down a bunt to advance the base runner, or even better – why didn’t Girardi start Jacoby Ellsbury instead?
The Astros continued to flash the leather, as Correa made a great play at short on a Chris Young grounder up the middle. They were able to get the lead runner out at second, but Young made it to first in time to keep the inning alive. Carlos Beltran smoked a line drive single that would have pulled the Yankees within one if Brett Gardner laid down a bunt, but who plays small ball anyway?
With a runner on first and second and two outs, the Astros made a critical decision to keep Keuchel in the game to face Alex Rodriguez, and that move paid off when A-Rod lined out to center on the first pitch he saw to end both the inning and scoring threat.
Luis Valbuena worked a 3-2 count to start the top of the seventh, and after a 12-pitch at-bat, Justin Wilson won the lead-off battle by getting Valbuena to ground out to first.
With one out and no one on, Girardi turned to Dellin Betances, who served a lead-off walk to Chris Carter. Carter was replaced by pinch-runner Jonathan Villar, who stole 17-bases-in-21-attempts during the regular season. Betances was able to strike Castro out, but Villar stole second successfully. With two outs and a runner on second, Betances gave up a single to Jose Altuve that plated Villar and extended the Astros lead to 3-0. On an 0-1 count, Altuve stole second, but Betances was able to retire the side by getting George Springer to ground out to second.
After 6.0 shutout innings of dominant playoff pitching on just three-days rest, the Astros replaced Dallas Keuchel with bullpen specialist Tony Sipp to begin the bottom of the seventh. Keuchel became the first pitcher to toss six shutout innings in the playoffs since Josh Beckett in 2006.
Sipp started things off by getting McCann to pop out weakly to centerfield in an eight-pitch at-bat. Chase Headley worked a one out walk, but Gregory Bird followed that up by striking out looking for the second out of the inning. Rob Refsnyder ended the inning by flying out to George Springer.
Betances struck out the side in the top of the eighth on a 98-mph fastball that he blew passed Correa, an 86-mph fastball that pulled the string on Rasmus and a pitch low and in the dirt that got Gattis swinging.
Right-hander Will Harris, who pitched 71 innings with a 1.90 ERA in the regular season, came on in relief for the Astros in the bottom of the eighth and he started things off with back-to-back ground outs off the bat of Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner. Jacoby Ellsbury came on to pinch-hit for Chris Young with two outs and nobody on, and of course he popped out to short to end the inning.
Andrew Miller came on for the Yankees in the top of the ninth and he managed to get pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie to pop out to Garder for out number one. Luis Valbuena struck out on a check swing for out number two and Marwin Gonzalez fanned on a nasty slider, and to last licks we head.
Astros closer Luke Gregorson came on in the bottom of the ninth and he immediately struck out Beltran on three straight pitches. Alex Rodriguez followed that up with a strikeout of his own and Brian McCann capped off an 0-for-4 night by ending the game on a ground out to Jose Altuve.
The Yankees have now been eliminated in their last five playoff appearances, and their 2015 season is now over. Good luck to the Houston Astros as they head to Kansas City for the American League Divisional Series.
Now before everyone cue’s the fire Joe Girardi talk and the media torments the New York Yankees, it’s important to note that no one picked the Yankees to make it this far at all. They were predicted to miss playoffs for a third straight season – and in true underdog fashion, they over achieved.
Say what you want about the New York Yankees, but I’m proud of all they achieved in 2015.
And so we begin another New York Yankees off-season.
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