HOUSTON _ The Yankees' season will someday be remembered by historians as a ringing success, full of surprises and a run that lasted deeper into October than anyone expected. That's what history provides _ context.
But for now, the ALCS is an open wound for the Bombers that won't heal quickly. The last two losses in Minute Maid Park will be a reminder of how close the Yankees came to the World Series, only to disappear in Games 6 and 7. They blew their final chance for a trip to the World Series with an empty 4-0 loss on Saturday that was dramatic for only a few innings.
Houston took control in a three-run fifth inning and never looked back, winning the pennant. The Yankees' will tell themselves there'll be other chances for redemption, but that's no consolation. Now yet. Not now. The Bombers had CC Sabathia starting in the biggest game of the year, convinced he would come up big with the season on the line. But the veteran left-hander was out-pitched by Charlie Morton, who shut out the Yankees over the five innings.
The lack of offense at Minute Maid Park is what the Yankees will remember _ and regret _ most. They destroyed the Astros in Game 3-4-5 in the Bronx, but were a different team on the road. They scored just three runs in four games, thrown out of synch by a loud and aggressive crowd and the Astros starters, including Justin Verlander who limited the Yankees to one run in 16 innings. Overall, Houston's starters posted an 0.77 ERA with 46 strikeouts.
Maybe the Yankees' just weren't ready. For all their confidence, they were simply invisible at the moment of truth. This was supposed to be the Bombers' year _ or at least that's what they believed after dramatic comebacks against the Twins in the wild-card and Indians in the ALDS. Winning Game 5 at Progressive Field, against Corey Kluber no less, convinced the Bombers that a World Series was their destiny.
It was an irresistible narrative and you know Fox was hoping it would be a reality. A Dodgers-Yankees showdown in October? The ratings bonanza would've been a corporate dream come true. But the Astros had other ideas, even after they were crushed into fine powder in Games 3-4-5.
The Stadium crowds were clearly in their heads. They looked miserable. They looked scared. By the time Game 5 was finished and the Yankees were just one win away from the Fall Classic, it appeared the Astros wanted nothing more than to get out of New York and forget their embarrassment.
But the Royals had one last weapon at their disposal _ Verlander who stopped the Yankees offense dead cold in Game 6 and set the stage for Saturday's one-game shootout. Sabathia was supposed to be the man of the hour and, to be fair, he didn't pitch badly. But the Astros had better at-bats throughout the night, and even though Sabathia was trailing only 1-0 when Joe Girardi summoned Tommy Kahnle, it was only a matter of time before they broke out.
The flip-side was the Yankees' poor approach against Morton, who threw 11 first-pitch strikes to the first 13 batters he faced. The right-hander was in control of the Yankees instead of the other way around. Of the 23 fastballs Morton threw in five innings, 21 were strikes. That's the kind of domination the Yankees couldn't match.
Their best chance came in the fifth inning, when with runners on first and third and one out, Morton, clinging to a one-run lead, refused to yield. He got Todd Frazier to bounce to third, where Alex Bregman fired to Brian McCann in time to cut down a sliding Greg Bird for the second out.
It was a perfectly-executed play that was helped by Bird's poor foot speed. Still, it required precision from Bregman and good hands by McCann, who held onto the ball just as Bird's foot touched home plate. Close play, but Bird was clearly out. When Chase Headley grounded out to Jose Altuve, ending the inning, the Yankees were just about ready to plunge into the abyss.
Their fate was sealed in the bottom half of the inning, when McCann once again put the dagger in the heart. Altuve led off with a home run off Kahnle, which was at least survivable had the damage been contained right there. The Yankees were only trailing 2-0. But Kahnle subsequently buried himself with a 2-2 change-up to McCann with runners on first and third, leaving the pitch over the middle of the plate. It was begging to be destroyed and McCann obliged _ a two-run double that effectively ended the Yankees' hopes.
They went down quietly after that, just one base hit after the fifth, no one coming close to roughing up Lance McCullers Jr. who pitched the final four innings. The Yankees' vaunted home run machine was utterly silenced: Aaron Judge never got the ball out of the infield in four at-bats, and Gary Sanchez was ineffective after a first-inning single. Didi Gregorius struck out all four times.
The Yankees packed up quietly afterward, told themselves it wasn't mean to be after all. But the Astros were going crazy on the field, treating their fans to an open-air toga party. The Yankees were hoping to be the ones celebrating. The memory of how poorly they played down the stretch won't soon be forgotten.
