Three takeaways from the Astros' AL-clinching win over the Yankees

Thomas Lott

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Three takeaways from the Astros' AL-clinching win over the Yankees image

This will go down as one of the greatest games in American League Championship Series history.

The Astros dropped the Yankees 6-4 on a walk-off two-run home run by Jose Altuve in the bottom of the ninth inning.

It came off of the best closer in the game and just a half-inning after DJ LeMahieu tied it up with a two-run homer of his own.

There are no words. Well, there are words, they're just aren't enough to describe this game.

We took a shot, though.

Three takeaways from the Astros' American-League clinching win over the Yankees

Why are they pitching to Jose Altuve?

This should go down as one of the biggest managerial blunders in baseball history.

First, the Astros gave up a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth on a home run to LeMahieu which was bad, but then they won the game on a two-run homer in the ninth from Altuve. But here's the thing: There was absolutely, positively, no reason to pitch to Altuve there. There were two outs. And yes there was a runner on first in George Springer, but the Astros had just taken Michael Brantley out of the game and replaced him with Jake Marisnick.

Marisnick was 1 for 3 in the postseason and is a defensive specialist. While putting a runner in scoring position with a walk is risky, but you would do that to face Marisnick rather than Altuve, who was the American League MVP in 2017.

This was a disaster. An absolute disaster.

Too many looks

This goes for every single reliever in the postseason: The more looks a team gets at him — no matter how dominant he is — they will get to him eventually. This was the case with Tommy Kahnle and it was also the same with Roberto Osuna.

First, with Kahnle, he had some success against Houston this season, especially in the postseason, as he had given up no runs in four separate appearances. But, Aaron Boone insisted on using him again in Game 6 and it cost him as he gave up hits to Altuve and Brantley and a key insurance run that gave the Astros a vital 4-2 lead.

That lead was vital because after Osuna had held the Yankees scoreless in three regular-season outings and three postseason appearances, he allowed the two-run homer to LeMahieu in New York's seventh look at him this season. While a good rule of thumb is to throw your best pitchers as often as you can, it is also true that players get a comfort level with those pitchers. That's exactly what happened with Kahnle and Osuna.

Out of their comfort zone

Say what you want about Brad Peacock giving up a run in the second inning, Josh James allowing all the base runners and New York putting guys on throughout Game 6, one thing cannot be overlooked here and it's bullpen games are not what the Astros do, and yet, it gave them a chance to win Game 6.

Houston threw true bullpen games three times this season. It happened twice in July when Framber Valdez was having some issues and then again one more time in August when Gerrit Cole had to be pulled from a start before a game. Houston went 0-3 in those games and posted an ERA of 6.67 in the losses.

The Astros again weren't great in Game 6. The Yankees, again, had baserunners on seemingly the entire game and Houston never looked comfortable. But what the Astros didn't do was throw the game away before it started. They competed and kept the team in the game. No one will complain about that in Houston.

Thomas Lott