NEW YORK _ Evil Empire revisited?
Yankees nemesis Dallas Keuchel fired something of a salvo on the eve of his Game 5 start against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Referring to his introduction Monday night during player introductions, Keuchel said that he enjoyed the boos from Yankees fans. "But to have some boos getting introduced, that was a nice feel," he said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference before Game 4. "You get boos against the 'Evil Empire' at the home turf, it makes you feel good just because you're doing your job correctly. Obviously, my job is to win for the Astros."
The Red Sox tagged George Steinbrenner's Yankees as the "Evil Empire" in 2002 when they outbid Boston for Cuban right-hander Jose Contreras. Then-Red Sox president Larry Lucchino was quoted at the time, "The Evil Empire extends its tentacles into Latin America."
Keuchel, highly recognizable with his long beard, was asked if he has had any interaction with Yankees fans on the streets of New York. "I usually always do," he said. "And that's also one of the joys is when you're doing your job correctly as a visiting player for the visiting team against the Yankees, people always are going to have choice words for you. So I fully expect that. It's not just me, though. There's a lot of other guys on the team that have done well for one reason or another."
Keuchel shut out the Yankees over seven innings in Game 1. Yankees fans also have not forgotten his dominance in the 2015 wild-card game at the Stadium when he pitched six scoreless innings in a 3-0 Astros' victory.
