Game Two of the ALCS, in Houston, ended at 1 am est with the Yankees sulking off the field. Carlos Correa would deliver a monster blow in the bottom of the 11th inning. Thus leaving the series between the two best teams in MLB this season, tied. And check out our PostSeason Report on the Laracuente Ledger Network over on YouTube.
Rocky Beginning
The Yankees would send lefty James Paxton to the mound to open up the contest. And while escaping giving up just one run. It was clear that Paxton did not have his best “stuff” despite hitting 97 mph on the radar gun. Usually, when Pax is hitting those levels of mph, he is at the top of his game. Last night, however, that was not the case. This lefty the Yankees vulnerable as they had to go to the bullpen after only 2.1 innings pitched. The Big Maple was not happy with his outing and will have the opportunity to redeem himself in a potential Game 6 situation. Not a great start for Paxton, but there are going to be more questions to answer besides those about James Paxton.
Bullpen Second Guesses
The most important question looming online after the Game 2 loss in Houston is why Chad Green was pulled when he was so dominant. In the fifth inning, Chad Green was removed from the game after two perfect innings pitched with two strikeouts and 21 of 26 pitches thrown being strikes. Despite the fact that Green was dominating, Adam Ottavino was brought into the game. Ottavino was brought in to face the right-handers, leading off of which was George Springer. Springer did not have good success going into this matchup. (However, that was based on the smallest of small sample sizes.) Ottavino would promptly give up a solo home run to Springer, and the “Monday morning quarterbacking” began. The Yankees will have to solidify their bullpen usage if they want to advance this post-season.
