Taxed with containing a potent Houston lineup after starter James Paxton couldn’t make it through three innings, New York’s bullpen eventually caved in the 11th inning when Carlos Correa led off with a home run off J.A. Happ.
Correa’s blast off Happ — the ninth Yankee pitcher of the night — gave the Astros a 3-2 win and tied the AL Championship Series at one game apiece.
“Moments like this like tonight make everything worth it,” said Correa. “Nights of hard work, doing my rehab, not missing anything, it’s all worth it when you look at moments like this.”
🚨 CARLOS CORREA SAID SEE YOU IN THE BRONX 🚨
WALK-OFF HOME RUN TO WIN GAME 2
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/XBSHGWMXx4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 14, 2019
The Yankees scored their only runs of the night in the fourth inning with Aaron Judge staked them to a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer off of Houston starter Justin Verlander. For Judge, the blast was his eighth postseason homer in 23 games.
AARON JUDGE ARE YOU KIDDING ME? pic.twitter.com/dotHq9Pdas
— #GleyberGood (@gleyberelite) October 14, 2019
That was Verlander’s only big mistake of the night as he pitched into the sixth inning. While he didn’t get the win, Verlander remains undefeated in seven career postseason starts against the Yankees with a record of 4-0. In the playoffs overall, Verlander is 7-3 with a 2.90 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning in 12 postseason appearances with the Astros since 2017.
The ALCS will shift to New York and the Astros will have Gerrit Cole on the mound in Game 3 on Tuesday. The Yankees may once again be without slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who missed last night’s game with a strained quadriceps.
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