The questions surrounding the New York Yankees haven’t changed for the last five years. Dating back to 2017, the Houston Astros have stood in the Yankees’ way of going to the World Series. You could even say 2015 going back to the Wild Card Game, although both teams weren’t nearly as good.
In 2017, the Bronx Bombers lost a heartbreaker to the Houston Astros in seven games. In that series (which was tainted by Houston’s sign-stealing scandal), the home teams won each game. Fast forward to 2019 and again the Yanks lost at Minute Maid Park after a Jose Altuve walk-off home run that came with allegations of him wearing a buzzer. Regardless, that was a six-game series in which the Yankees had several chances to take control. They had Game 2 won until Carlos Correa hit a walk-off in extra innings.
In 2018, 2020, and 2021 the Yankees didn’t make the ALCS … but the Astros did. Houston has now made it to the ALCS six times in a row, which is remarkable in this day and age.
Will 2022 be the year the New York Yankees get past the Houston Astros in the postseason?
This year, the Astros were the best team in the American League, winning 106 games (seven more than the Yankees). The Astros went 5-2 against the Yankees this season, and the Yanks had to walk off to win those two games and never led in any innings during the regular season.
These teams both look a little bit different this time around after some injuries and departures. The biggest X-factor is Gerrit Cole, who was an Astro in 2019. Carlos Correa is also a huge departure, but Jermey Peña has filled in nicely with several big hits, including a home run in Tuesday’s Houston win.
The Yanks’ main enemies remain in Altuve, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel. Verlander has buckled the Yankees in the postseason, although in 2019 they got to him with a few home runs. They could not, however, do much damage in Tuesday’s loss.
New York’s roster for this round looks a little bit different with the addition of shortstop Oswald Peraza and right-handed pitchers Frankie Montas and Greg Weissert. With the changes, knowing the Yankees are already down 1-0 and don’t have home-field advantage, is this team good enough to finally beat the Astros? We’ll find out soon enough.