How the Astros Stifled the Yankees in Game 3

6. Didi Gregorius, SS

7. Gary Sanchez, C

8. Gio Urshela, 3B

9. Aaron Hicks, CF

Astros

1. George Springer, CF

2. Jose Altuve, 2B

3. Michael Brantley, LF

4. Alex Bregman, 3B

5. Yuli Gurriel, 1B

6. Yordan Alvarez, DH

7. Carlos Correa, SS

8. Josh Reddick, RF

9. Martin Maldonado, C

Pregame Story Lines

After a memorable American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Astros in 2017, it was clear that both teams would continue to compete in an arms race for control of baseball’s junior circuit. The Yankees traded for Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton — at that point the reigning N.L. most valuable player — while Houston sent four prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Gerrit Cole, a starting pitcher who over the previous two seasons had gone 19-22 with a 4.12 E.R.A. in 319 innings of work.

It may have seemed like the Yankees had positioned themselves to dominate, but since those deals, Stanton has been riddled with injuries, producing a total of 4.4 wins above replacement, while Cole, with help from Houston’s spin-rate factory of analytics and coaching, has produced 8.4 WAR for the Astros.

Making matters worse, Cole’s role, durable starting pitcher, is the most glaring area of need for the Yankees in their quest to win the team’s 28th World Series title. He has topped 200 innings in each of the last three seasons, and in both of his starts in Houston’s division series win over Tampa Bay, he pitched into the eighth inning and earned the win.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/sports/baseball/yankees-astros-game-3-score.html?emc=rss&partner=rss