The top Yankees victories of the 2010s

2. vs. Houston Astros (October 17, 2017 @ Yankee Stadium)– Down two games to one in the American League Championship Series, the Yankees turned to midseason acquisition Sonny Gray to help them tie the series. Gray would be opposed by Lance McCullers Jr., whose father had pitched for the Yankees in the late 80s and early 90s.

The game was a pitcher’s duel through the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, Gray started to tire and Houston eventually loaded the bases with nobody out. Joe Girardi would bring in David Robertson to face Yankee killer, Carlos Correa. Robertson would strike Correa out swinging but his the next batter, Yuli Gurriel, sliced a double down the left field line that cleared the bases to give Houston a 3-0 lead. 3-0 became 4-0 in the top of the seventh, when Yankee second baseman Starlin Castro, misplayed a groundball, allowing a run to score.

Yankee Stadium grew awfully quiet as things were looking bleaker and bleaker. The Yankees were four runs down and nine outs away from falling behind 3-1 in the series, with their nemesis, Dallas Keuchel, looming in Game 5. However, the tide slowly began to turn beginning in the bottom of the seventh, when Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge, demolished a solo home run to dead-center off of McCullers, to get the Yankees on the board.

Houston manager A.J. Hinch surprisingly went to his bullpen immediately after the blast and the Yankees took full advantage of it. Didi Gregorius followed with an opposite-field triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Gary Sanchez, to cut the lead in half. The score remained 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Down to their last six outs, an anxious Yankee Stadium crowd slowly rose to their feet when Todd Frazier led off with a single. Girardi would then pinch-hit Austin Romine with veteran infielder Chase Headley.

Headley would hit the ball into the left-centerfield gap. Frazier made it to third base easily but Headley tripped and fell as he was running to second base. The Astros quickly threw the ball back in the infield as Headley chugged with all his might. Headley dove headfirst into second, just in the knick of time ahead of a tag from Jose Altuve. The Astros challenged the play the replays showed that Headley had indeed made it in safely. Now Yankee Stadium was coming alive. The atmosphere that was found daily at the “House that Ruth Built,” had transferred over across the street.

Brett Gardner drove in Frazier from third with a groundout to cut the lead down to 4-3. In what would be his final appearance in pinstripes and maybe professional baseball in general, Jacoby Ellsbury came into the game to pinch run for Headley at third with Judge at the plate. Judge fought tooth and nail with Houston reliever Ken Giles before he sliced the ball do deep left field. The ball was carrying and descending rapidly as the crowd exploded. The ball caromed off a fan’s hands off the top of the outfield wall. Ellsbury scored and Judge got into second base to tie the game. Yankee Stadium erupted in jubilation as the Astros called for fan interference but to no avail.

Gregorius was now at the plate and he hit a soft single just underneath the glove of Correa to move Judge over to third. That brought up Gary Sanchez, who up to that point in the series had not had a hit. Girardi put the hit-and-run on when Sanchez got ahead 2-0. Didi took off and Sanchez laced the ball into the right-centerfield gap. Judge and Didi both scored and Sanchez wound up at second with a double. Yankee Stadium was in an absolute frenzy. The place shook from the top of the façade to the bottom of the field. It was a hungry monster and it could smell blood in the water. The Yankees had come back from a 4-0 deficit to take the lead 6-4, which is what they’d win by to finish the game.

Analysis: This game was definitely the most electric, thrilling game at Yankee Stadium in the 2010s. The emotion pouring out from the stands was beautiful and this Yankee team never quit no matter what the circumstances were. They had proven they could stand toe-to-toe with the beasts of the American League. Although they came up short, this was such a great game with a lot of heart and desire.