NEW YORK – Standing behind the batting cage late Wednesday afternoon, New York Yankees hitting coach Alan co*ckrell outlined his team’s plan against Houston Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel:
Be ready to hit. Don’t let him dictate the at-bat. Look for a ball in the middle of the plate and trust that.
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Easier said than done against Keuchel, who entered the game with a 1.09 ERA in 57 2/3 career innings against the Yankees, including the postseason. But the Yankees followed the plan, jumping Keuchel several times early in counts and knocking him out after 4 2/3 innings. If they can devise and execute as effective a strategy against Astros righty Justin Verlander on Friday night, they likely will head to the World Series.
The Yankees’ 5-0 victory, which gave them a three-games-to-two lead in the series, was fueled by right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, who lowered his ERA this postseason to 0.90 in three starts. It was also helped by the Astros, who took poor offensive approaches and looked like they could not wait to escape from New York. But the Yankees’ most impressive feat was overcoming their nemesis, Keuchel, with contributions from all three of their 25-and-under regulars: right fielder Aaron Judge, catcher Gary Sanchez and first baseman Greg Bird.
“We were looking to hit from pitch one,” co*ckrell said. “You watch video. If you’re going to get a mistake to hit, it’s usually when [Keuchel] is trying to get strike one. And then he’s got weapons, command, and movement. We were looking to hit early.”
The plan did not work right away. Keuchel unleashed his familiar brilliance in a perfect first inning, striking out Judge and Sanchez and saying afterward that he walked off the mound thinking, “I’ve got it again today.” But after two quick outs in the second, Starlin Castro hit the one pitch Keuchel said he wanted back, a 1-0 backup cutter, for a double to left. Bird followed by turning on a 2-0 fastball for an RBI single to right, ending Keuchel’s streak of eight shutout innings against the Yankees this postseason.
The third inning featured more of the same, with Judge providing the key hit on a 1-1 cutter, a one-out double that barely eluded the Astros’ diving third baseman, Alex Bregman, and scored Brett Gardner from first. “I usually move Bregman over a couple of steps to be right on the line because a lot of righties do pull that down the line or a foot or two by the line,” Keuchel lamented. “I just didn’t move him and Correa over and sure enough the ball was six inches from his glove.”
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One pitcher’s frustration led to an entire team’s validation. The Yankees, leading 2-0, were on the right track. “We wanted to set the tone, make sure that we let him have his pitches,” Headley said. “We knew he was going to make his pitches and execute — you don’t want to make an out early on that. But by the same token, you can’t let him just have three strikes. You’ve got to go up there being aggressive. Even some of the outs we made, I thought at least we were dictating what was going on.”
Added Todd Frazier: “We looked middle of the plate. Sometimes, you can cut it in half, inside or outside. When you look middle of the plate with him, his ball moves so much, the cutter is going to come into righties, the two-seam fastball is going to go away. If you’re thinking middle, that cutter that kind of stays over the plate, which we hit very well today, you have better opportunities to get guys in. Same thing with the two-seamer. If it’s not right down the plate, it’s most likely going to be a ball.”
Keuchel settled in the fourth, striking out Castro and Bird in a 1-2-3 inning, but the fifth began with Headley hitting a soft infield single to third and advancing on a throwing error by Bregman. Judge, who went 4-for-9 with two homers, six RBIs and two walks during the three games in New York, then walked on a 3-2 count. Up came Sanchez, who had struck out in his first two at-bats. Once again, Keuchel made a mistake, this time on 0-1.
“Based on how Sanchez had swung the second at-bat, where I threw three sliders pretty much in the dirt and he swung over all of them, that third at-bat, I probably should have tested the water with a bounced slider instead of a low-and-in slider,” Keuchel said. “Other than that, they were placing balls left and right. When you’re hot, you’re hot. You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due.”
A single by Didi Gregorius finished Keuchel, and Tanaka and Tommy Kahnle took care of the rest. Yankees starting pitchers in the last nine games, starting with Game 2 of the Division Series, have a 1.92 ERA in 51 2/3 innings. Kahnle has thrown 10 scoreless innings in the postseason, allowing just two hits. No wonder the Yankees insisted upon him before parting with top outfield prospect Blake Rutherford in the deal with the Chicago White Sox that also brought Frazier and reliever David Robertson to New York.
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The Astros, who led the majors in runs during the regular season, are batting .147 with a .447 OPS and nine runs scored in five games. Perhaps their offense will revive against right-hander Luis Severino when the series resumes at Minute Maid Park on Friday night. But the Yankees’ offense already is rolling. Sanchez, who hit a homer off Brad Peaco*ck in the seventh, has five RBIs in the last two games. Bird has been on base in five of his last seven plate appearances. Headley has four hits in his last five at-bats.
After overcoming Keuchel, it’s not inconceivable the Yankees will do the same against Verlander, who expended considerable effort in throwing a 124-pitch complete game against them in Game 2. One thing is certain: The Astros’ dubious bullpen will again be a factor in this series, if not behind Verlander, then almost certainly behind Charlie Morton in a potential Game 7 matchup against CC Sabathia.
Devise a plan, execute a plan. The Yankees did it against Keuchel on Wednesday night. The Astros need to display the same type of offensive discipline and know-how, or it will all over be soon.
(Top photo: Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY)
Ken Rosenthal is the senior baseball writer for The Athletic who has spent nearly 35 years covering the major leagues. In addition, Ken is a broadcaster and regular contributor to Fox Sports' MLB telecasts. He's also won Emmy Awards in 2015 and 2016 for his TV reporting. Follow Ken on Twitter @Ken_Rosenthal
