• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

October 6, 2015, Queens, NY  Dallas Keuchel is an official Yankee killer. He faced the Yankees three times this year, twice during the regular season and once in the playoffs. He didn’t yield one run.  In the first regular season game, he pitched the full nine in shutting the Yankees out 4-0. He pitched against them again in late August where he gave up no runs in the course of seven innings (the Astros won that game 15-1). Tonight, on only three days rest, the long-bearded Keuchel held the Yankees scoreless over six innings, for a 3-0 victory in the American League Wild Card game. The numbers don’t lie.

The Yankees probably overachieved this season, but the loss at home to the Astros in a one-and-done scenario will probably leave a bitter taste in the mouths of most Yankee fans. More disappointing was the sudden departure of Yankee stud pitcher C. C. Sabathia who checked himself into rehab for alcohol abuse just 24 hours earlier. The timing of the announcement couldn’t have been worse for the Yankees, but Sabathia’s well being must be put above a baseball game, even if it is a playoff game.

The Astros scored in the second inning when Colby Rasmus hit a solo shot off Mashiro Tanaka. In the fourth inning, Carlos Gomez launched a 400+ foot blast, and they scored an insurance run in the seventh inning. Tanaka lasted five innings giving up two runs and four hits. Keuchel struck out seven and allowed only three hits over six innings. He is probably the American League Cy Young Award winner for this season.

The Astros face the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series. The Astros haven’t won a playoff game since 2005, but they appear to be a team on the upswing.

The Yankees seemed to coast the last two weeks of the regular season, not playing with any real sense of urgency. However, gone are the days of George Steinbrenner when an early exit would have meant that someone would be fired or traded. But just like David Ortiz was a Yankee killer, it appears a new one has arisen, and his name is Dallas Keuchel.

Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at @cliffordbenton.

 

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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