Yankees vs Astros: a glimpse of the future

The Yankees host the Houston Astros in the Bronx for a three-game series beginning on Memorial Day. So how do they match up against the World Champions?

The Yankees will start Domingo German, C.C. Sabathia and Luis Severino on the bump to take on the Astros while the Bombers’ powerhouse lineup faces the likes of Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel.

On paper, the Astros should win the first two games easily, sending both German and Sabathia to the showers early considering the Bombers’ continued struggles versus both right-handers.

Verlander and Morton easily navigated the Yanks’ offense the last time the two teams faced and may actually be throwing better now than in that previous series in Houston — if that’s even possible.

Since he blanked the Yankees for eight innings while collecting 14 strikeouts in their first meeting, Verlander has been untouchable and now is 6-2 with an incredible ERA of 1.08 on the year.

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Morton tossed 7.2 innings of one-run ball with 10 K in his last outing against the Yanks and has continued to mow down the opposition with a 7-0 record and a 2.04 ERA.

I cannot write about either German or Sabathia’s latest efforts without embarrassing them. So suffice it to say, based on their recent starts, the Astros will most likely score plenty of runs, and more than enough to win.

On the other hand, Luis Severino at 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA, threw a nine-inning shutout vs. Houston the last time around — and should best Dallas Keuchel, 3-6 with a 3.39 ERA — who gave up three runs to the Yanks.

So how is it that the Yankees won that previous series? Well, German was still in the bullpen and threw just four frames after Montgomery was forced to leave the start after just one-inning. The Yankee bullpen kept up with Verlander and eventually pulled it out in the ninth.

Next: Time to convert one-position players into multi-position

Nobody can accurately forecast the future but looking at this comparison only further underscores the Yankees need for another front-end starter if they want to compete for a World Championship.