Well that was ugly. The New York Yankees and Houston Astros appeared to be on a collision course to meet in the ALCS all season long as the top two teams in the American League. Yet when they did, the Astros embarrassed the Yankees once again, this time sweeping New York out of the playoffs to move onto the World Series.
This isn't the first time the Yankees have come up short in the ALCS against the Astros. This was the third time that the Yankees had made it to the ALCS in the past six seasons, with the previous two instances also seeing them bump into the Astros with a chance to punch their ticket to the World Series. In both those cases, though, the Astros sent the Yankees packing.
Not much has changed clearly, as the Astros throttled the Yankees through and through in this series, and are heading back to the World Series. This is a very disappointing result for the Yankees, as their team crumbled at the worst possible time. Let's take a look at three players whose failure to show up cost their team in a big way in this series.
3. Gerrit Cole
For all intents and purposes, Gerrit Cole had a solid postseason for the Yankees. But his performance in Game 3 of the ALCS reinforced the notion that, when the lights are brightest, Cole can't seem to find a way to be at his best. In the pivotal Game 3, Cole fell apart, and as he did, so too did the rest of his team.
Cole was looking good through five innings, as his lone blemish was a two-run home run to Chas McCormick. But Cole was keeping his team in the game, and waiting for the offense to wake up. Then the sixth inning rolled around, and Cole collapsed. He immediately let the first three runners reach base, then was pulled from the game and forced to watch Lou Trivino allow them all to score.
Part of this is Aaron Boone's fault for poor pitching management, but he did make the right call letting his star go longer in hopes he could continue to shut down Houston. Instead, Cole finished the game going five plus innings while giving up five runs. The Yankees needed him to go toe-to-toe with Cristian Javier, and he couldn't. For that reason, Cole earns a spot on this list.
2. Nestor Cortes
Similar to Cole, Nestor Cortes was solid in his first two starts of the postseason, but he faltered in Game 4. Again, Boone probably played a role in Cortes finding his way on this list, but the Yankees top two starters throughout the season couldn't get the job done when their team needed them the most.
Cortes lasted just two plus innings for the Yankees in Game 4. He cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third, as he allowed the first two batters to reach base before Jeremy Pena smacked a three-run home run to tie the game. Yes, even more troubling was the fact that Cortes was given a three run lead that he promptly threw away.
Boone quickly pulled Cortes, which was a bit of a confusing decision. Up until that point, that was the only trouble that Cortes had run into, and Boone backed himself into a corner by throwing his bullpen into the game earlier than he had to. But either way, Cortes had every opportunity to at least extend this series in Game 4, but he failed to do so in his limited time on the mound.
1. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge's historic season was the talk throughout the MLB this season. He set the American League record for home runs in a single season with 62, nearly won the Triple Crown, and powered the Yankees into the playoffs. And it all came crashing down in the ALCS, because Judge simply couldn't hit.
Judge labored through the series the entire way, recording just one hit in his 16 at-bats. For the guy who was the best hitter on the planet all season long, it was mind-boggling. Judge looked superhuman all season long, but throughout the playoffs, he never looked close to being the player he was throughout the regular season.
While Judge's performance shouldn't prevent the Yankees from re-signing him, it's concerning to see him and the rest of the team continue to fall apart each passing season in the playoffs. Judge is the primary culprit, as New York's offense only scored nine total runs in this four game stretch. He was their main source of offense all season long, and when his team needed him the most, he disappeared, making him an easy choice for the top spot on this list.
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