Thanks for following along. Someone will be here tomorrow night to liveblog Pirates-Astros.
Congrats to the Astros. And Yankees fans, maybe you can root for the Mets now?
Updated
Two years ago, the Astros lost 111 games. Now they’re in the real playoffs.
I’m picking the Phillies to win the 2017 World Series. Oh, right. The Astros already won that one. 2018 then.
Astros Advance! FINAL SCORE: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Gregerson gets McCann to ground out to short and needed just 8 pitches to put the Yankees away.
The Astros will now play the Royals. The Yankees will now play no one.
A-Rod gets the second out by striking out on 4 pitches. They’re improving!
Carlos Beltran opens the 9th by striking out on 3 pitches. That was not helpful.
Beltran-A-Rod-McCann will face Luke Gregerson in the 9th.
Of course A-Rod will be involved in the 9th inning of an elimination game. Of course.
Top of the 9th over: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Yankees closer Andrew Miller blazed through three Houston batters. But it was almost like the Astros wanted to get the inning over quickly, too, so they could get back out there and put the Yankees away.
End of the 8th: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Jacoby Ellsbury finally gets to bat ... and weekly pops up to end the inning.
And more booing! At least the fans are finally making some noise, I guess.
Brett Gardner ground out for the second out of the 8th and then gets booed. Come on, Yankees fans! He connected that time! Jerks.
Will Harris is now in to pitch for the Astros. In 68 games this year, he has a 1.90 ERA. The first batter he will face is Yankee shortstop legend Didi Gregorius.
Top of the 8th over: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Betances strikes out the side. The Yankees should consider letting him hit.
Some people are very upset that ESPN has replaced awful human Curt Schilling with the intelligent Jessica Mendoza.
This guy is so INCENSED that a woman would be allowed near sports that he has tweeted at 59(!) strangers about it pic.twitter.com/Wz6B7kYqp9
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 7, 2015
Yankees have been shut out twice in winner-take-all postseason game: 1957 World Series Gm 7 vs Braves, 1955 World Series Gm 7 vs Dodgers
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) October 7, 2015
A-Rod’s pretty old, right? He was probably to blame for both of those games.
End of the 7th: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Tony Sipp struggled with his control, but the Yankees never got a man to second base. The way they’re swinging tonight, the Yankees need an Astros pitcher to walk eight consecutive men to win.
Dallas Keuchel is first starter with a scoreless postseason start on 3 days rest since Josh Beckett in 2003. pic.twitter.com/AEfgek0u2F
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 7, 2015
This means Keuchel is eight years away from spending a season on the Red Sox eating chicken and drinking beer.
It's weird watching the Yankees without big time players on there team.
— Mike Bacsik (@MikeBacsik) October 7, 2015
But Rob Refsnyder!
Left-handed reliever Tony Sipp is in for Dallas Keuchel to open the bottom of the 7th. Keuchel is being removed because ... he was ... mostly unhittable and ... threw ... 87 pitches? That’s it? Eight-seven and he’s out?
Breaking: I don’t know why Keuchel is being removed.
Top of the 7th over: Astros 3-0 Yankees
Betances has closer’s stuff and may have just closed the Yankees season.
Betances allowed 17 stolen bases during the regular season. Next-most by any reliever was 10.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) October 7, 2015
Astros 3-0 Yankees
After Chris Carter walked, Jonathan Villar pinch ran and stole second on a Jason Castro strikeout. With two outs, Jose Altuve reached out and hit an appropriately tiny single into left field to plate Villar.
Justin Wilson gets the first two outs in the 7th and is now being replaced by Dellin Betances. He’s the Yankees most dominant player. He is not a hitter, unfortunately for them.
Here's a stat on A-Rod: he's hitless in the postseason since surpassing Willie Freaking Mays in career home runs #scrub
— Kevin McElroy (@knickerbacker) October 7, 2015
End of the 6th: Astros 2-0 Yankees
A-Rod swung on the first pitch ... and hit an easy fly to center.
This guy might develop a reputation for postseason failure if he doesn’t watch it.
Things are happening! Keuchel floats over the plate and Beltran belts it to center for a single. A-ROD (!) is now up with two outs and men on first and second. A-ROD!
Keuchel responds by making Brett Gardner looks foolish on a slider for strike three. Gardner has now K’d three times tonight. Just think how many times Ellsbury would have struck out against Keuchel, though!!!
Didi “Better Than Jeter” Gregorius leads of the bottom of the 6th with a single past Altuve, giving the Yankees their leadoff hitter on base for the first time tonight.
John Kruk isn’t having his best night.
"They probably don't know that the Yankees have won 27 world championships." - John Kruk, on professional baseball players
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) October 7, 2015
This continues his streak of bad nights.
Top of the 6th over: Astros 2-0 Yankees
Wilson gets a double play and a 6-3 putout to end the inning.
The Yankees head to the plate with 12 outs left.
Wilson starts his night by walking Rasmus.
Abort! Abort! Put Tanaka back in!
Justin Wilson is in the game for the Yankees to start the 6th.
Tanaka’s did enough to give his team a chance. Now the Yankees just need to sign some hitters before the game ends.
End of the 5th: Astros 2-0 Yankees
Keuchel is really rolling now. He’s put down 10 Yankees in a row.
This season vs. the Yankees, he now hasn’t been scored on in 21 innings. They Yankees better hope that doesn’t reach 25 innings this evening.
Updated
It’s pushed a lot of Yankee batter bodies off the tracks tonight.
Dallas Keuchel's beard was styled after the front of a locomotive pic.twitter.com/u33BCutC56
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) October 7, 2015
Top of the 5th over: Astros 2-0 Yankees
Astros go up three up, three down in Tanaka’s best inning of the night. The Yankee crowd shows their appreciation by briefly getting above 1/10th of a decibel.
Didi Gregorius just fielded a ball in the hole and then rifled it across to first to get George Springer. Derek Jeter never could have made that play.
[ducks]
The Yankees' biggest strength is their pitch selection & ability to work counts. Loosen up the strike zone and they haven't got much.
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) October 7, 2015
End of the 4th: Astros 2-0 Yankees
Keuchel is earning himself a very big contract offer from the Yankees in 2019.
Keuchel opens the bottom of the 4th by striking out Carlos Beltran on a 3-2 curve, the Springer runs down an A-Rod drive to the track in right field.
Yankee Stadium is starting to get quiet. Well, quiet-er.
Top of the 4th over: Astros 2-0 Yankees
Tanaka gets Jason Castro to ground into a double play. It hasn’t been pretty, it’s barely been much above homely, but Tanaka is at least keeping the Yankees in the game.
Now Tanaka walked Chris Carter with one out. He’s up to 69 pitches through 3 1/3. Not nice.
Astros 2-0 Yankees
Carlos Gomez hits Tanaka’s first pitch of the 4th inning to left for a home run.
Tanaka might want to stop grooving the first pitch he throws every inning.
End of the 3rd: Astros 1-0 Yankees
Keuchel makes quick work of the Yankees in the third. Didi Gregorius flew out and then Brett Gardner and Chris Young struck out. He now has 5 Ks through 3 innings.
Gattis doesn't look like he's going up there to hit a baseball so much as beat a moose to death with a sledgehammer.
— Michael Baumann (@MJ_Baumann) October 7, 2015
Top of the 3rd over: Astros 1-0 Yankees
Chase Headley made a great play to just get Evan Gattis at first. Gattis’ hand callouses were no help getting him down the line.
The bottom hand of Evan "no gloves" Gattis pic.twitter.com/CVWDRSf0Pr
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) September 9, 2015
Correa lines out to third, keeping Springer at second. That aside, Tanaka is now at 49 pitches through 2 1/3.
George Springer leads off the 3rd inning with a double. Bullpen, get it ready.
End of the 2nd: Astros 1-0 Yankees
Rob Refsnyder -- yes, the Yankees have a $219 million payroll and started Rob Refsnyder in a playoff game -- grounded weakly back to Keuchel to end the inning.
HP umpire Eric Cooper obviously can't see the white square in front of him.
— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) October 7, 2015
Greg Bird singles to right with two outs. Maybe Billy Crystal will sit down now.
Billy Crystal does not approve of tonight's strike zone. pic.twitter.com/ti4XilbQgE
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) October 7, 2015
@geoffschwartz i hope you guys do bad at football this year
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) October 7, 2015
Top of the 2nd over: Astros 1-0 Yankees
Tanaka gets out of it by getting Altuve to hit into a 5-4 force out.
The Astros probably should have used their home run that inning when the bases were loaded, huh?
Bases load after Tanaka walks Castro. Even if he gets out of this, his pitch count is already at 35. Tanaka may not be long for this game.
It’s now first and second for the Astros with two outs after a single by Valbuena and a walk to Carter. Jason Castro at the plate, and Tanaka quickly falls down 2-0.
Updated
Tanaka has now thrown 3 pitches in the 2nd inning ... he has given up one run and gotten two outs.
Yankees playoff games are supposed to last 6 hours. What’s happening?
Astros 1-0 Yankees
Colby Rasmus crushes Tanaka’s first pitch of the 2nd inning deep into the right field seats.
That was quickly followed by Evan Gattis ripping the first pitch he saw to the wall in the right-center gap ... but Gardner made a leaping catch.
End of the 1st: Yankees 0-0 Astros
A-Rod struck out looking.
Some would say this is proof he really is all the way back to 100%.
Chris Young walked and then went to second on a weak grounder to third by Carlos Beltran. That means there’s a man in scoring position with two outs for ... Alex Rodriguez! AHHHHH!
Dallas Keuchel begins his night with strikeout of Brett Gardner on a 3-2 fastball right down the middle. As the saying goes: good pitching beats good hitters who just stand there.
Top of the 1st over: Yankees 0-0 Astros
Carlos Correa ended the inning with a lazy fly ball. Three up, three down. Yankees up next, with A-Rod batting 4th!!!!!!
No. 2 hitter George Springer gets dominated by Tanaka and also Ks. We’re 2/27th of the way to some amazing history!
Altuve strikes out on a 3-2 fastball that was outside by almost an entire Altuve.
First pitch!
Masahiro Tanaka throws a ball outside to Jose Altuve.
The first pitch was at 8:10, but it was scheduled for 8:08 ET. Please stick more closely to your absurd times, MLB.
Updated
The last time the Astros made the postseason, they got swept in the World Series by an American League team.
Weird.
What happens when the World Series ends in Novtober?
Astrober Buctober Cubtober Textober Metropolitantober Dodgetober Eh-tober George Brett-ober ... Yanktober
— Greg Presto (@GregPresto) October 7, 2015
The Astros should be playing free and loose and without pressure, considering they already won the 2017 World Series.
Getting ahead start on 2017! @astros pic.twitter.com/zjyfhjRMtw
— Eric Reemts (@ERimits) September 23, 2015
The Astros were 33-48 on the road this year. Only one playoff team in history has had a worse road record.
But the Yankees are 13-18 at home since August 7th.
So the smart money says both teams will lose.
Alex Rodriguez just got a huge ovation while being announced to the Yankee Stadium crowd. Consider how the team and the fans looked on him one year ago. You can’t help but be amazed. And also laugh a lot.
Welcome to the liveblog of the Astros-Yankees wildcard game!
Two important points before we get started:
1) Playing a single game to advance after 162 games is absurd and unfair to the teams playing.
2) That said, it is amazing drama and we’re all watching because of it. Let’s go!
DJ will be here shortly. In the meantime, check out who our writers think will win the World Series, and how the Cubs will stuff things up this time:
