The New York Yankees currently find themselves in a tough situation in the ALCS against the Houston Astros. The AL East champions went down 0-2 in the series after their loss on Thursday. While it was a much better outing for the Pinstripes than Game 1, it still wasn't enough to get past Houston.
One of the culprits, according to a couple of key faces, is the Astros' decision to open the roof of Minute Maid Park. After the Yankees' loss, Aaron Boone talked about how the roof may have affected their play. In particular, he points to a deep ball hit by Judge that went short, presumably due to the open roof. (via Twitter)
“I think the roof open kind of killed us. I think it's a 390′ [foot] ball.”
"I think the roof open kind of killed us. I think it's a 390' [foot] ball."
Aaron Boone thinks the roof open at Minute Maid Park tonight played an impact on Aaron Judge's flyout in the 8th inning pic.twitter.com/ouhUcgIqwN
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 21, 2022
As for Aaron Judge, the Yankees hitter took a much calmer stance about that tragic eighth-inning deep ball. The hard-hitting outfielder said that he knew from the moment he hit the ball that it wasn't getting out of the field, not with how the wind was blowing.
"Not with the way the wind was playing. I hit it to the wrong part of the park for sure"
Aaron Judge didn't think the fly ball he hit in the 8th inning was going to be a home run pic.twitter.com/CS08EqYTMG
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 21, 2022
After an awful 17-strikeout performance in Game 1, the Yankees offense once again struggled against the elite Astros pitching. They struck out 13 times this time around, which is less than ideal for the playoffs. The same problems that plagued the pinstripes in the regular season seem to not be fixed for the post-season.
The Yankees can't expect to win the ALCS with a performance like this, especially against this dominant Astros team. Wind or no wind, the hitters must find a way to get consistent production all game long.