Astros shut out Yankees to advance to ALDS

The upstart Houston Astros showed they have the pitching, the speed, and the muscle to win the American League pennant and proved it convincingly last night at fabled Yankee Stadium..

Girardi included starting pitchers Luis Severino and Ivan Nova as part of an eight-man bullpen behind starter Masahiro Tanaka, joined by Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Adam Warren, James Pazos and Bryan Mitchell. Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez is at left and Hank Conger is at right. Keuchel threw six dominant innings on three days’ rest, and three Houston relievers followed with one hitless inning apiece.

“Never would I imagine that I would have pitched that well or we would have played that well in Yankee Stadium, on that big a stage”. The Astros raced to an area between first and second base after Brian McCann grounded out to end the game and jumped in a big scrum. As he was coming off the field, Keuchel pumped his fists at a group of cheering Astros supporters in orange shirts behind the visiting dugout. Kansas City is slated to start Yordano Ventura on Thursday night, a big-time confidence boost for the 24-year-old who faced an up-and-down regular season that even saw him briefly sent to Triple-A Omaha.

“It feels like an eternity”, Sabathia said. “But we have come together the last eight months and it has been a lot of fun”.

They clowned around during pregame introductions, then stayed loose the whole game.

The Yankees were written off before the season as an aging club that would not contend. Instead, a few of the old war horses such as Rodriguez and the now-injured Mark Teixeira powered the team to success. “You work hard all season, and this was my first playoff opportunity”.

Girardi kept Brett Gardner, another left-handed hitter, in the lineup, though Gardner, who made the All-Star team, hit only. Fans taunted Keuchel the moment he walked to the outfield for warmups.

“I told him I wanted to play”, Ellsbury said as he walked off the field after batting practice.

Harvey on time: One day after missing a mandatory workout and apologizing for his late arrival, Matt Harvey went through practice with his New York teammates Wednesday before the NL East champions traveled to Los Angeles.

With two outs and two on and Houston leading 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, A-Rod strode to the plate while Astros manager, A.J. Hinch strode to the mound.

Ellsbury signed a seven-year, $153 million contract following the 2013 season, during which he helped the Red Sox win the World Series, hitting.

It was a rough night for two men who are supposed to be among the cornerstones of these Yankee years.

Tanaka allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. He struck out three.

Tampa Rays ace Chris Archer has a new October gig, analyst for ESPN.

The team went 1/6 with runners in scoring position, stranded five men, and tallied just one extra base hit outside of the homers by Rasmus and Carlos Gomez.