The World Series matchup is now set after the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees in game six on a walk off homerun by second baseman Jose Altuve. We already knew who the National league team was, after the Nationals swept the Cardinals in four games on the backs of their strong pitching.
The Astros had a tougher matchup than their world series matchup though, the Yankees and the Astros were seen as two of the best teams in the league, whereas the Cardinals did not really fit that bill. The Yankees had dealt with injuries all season long but still had one of the best lineups going into the playoffs.
However, the Yankees lineup was not strong enough to deal with the Astros pitching staff and lineup, giving them memories of the 2017 ALCS where the Astros eliminated them in game seven and went on to win the World Series.
This season came with a little more disappointment, the Yankees overcame the odds all season long to finish first in the American League East. They sent a record number of players to the injured list this season, but still managed to finish in first. Due to this, it seemed likely that once the Yankees were back at full health then it would be nearly impossible to get past this team.
Well, the Yankees were mostly healthy come playoff time—at least more than the regular season—and they showed it in the first round where they swept the Twins in three games, never giving up the lead in the entire series.
After this series it looked like there could only be one team to stop them, the Astros. However, it wasn’t certain that the Astros would make it past their matchup against the Rays. After winning the first two games the Astros then lost the next two on the road, meaning a game five would be the deciding factor. Game five never seemed in doubt as the Astros scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back, winning the game 6-1.
This meant that the only team who could stack up to the Yankees (on paper) would be meeting them in the Championship Series.
The Yankees grabbed game one in Houston, and it made all fans think that this series would be different than the 2017 series and the Yankees would make their first world series appearance of the decade. Game two came along and the Yankees looked strong on the mound once again, the game was tied 2-2 after five innings and that would last until extra innings. If the Yankees won this game, then they would have a huge advantage as the next three games would be at home.
The Astros managed to come away with this game and tie it up as they headed into the Bronx after Carlos Correa hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th.
In the Bronx the Astros created a challenge that would be nearly impossible for the Yankees to overcome, pitching perennial Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole. Cole pitched seven innings striking out seven batters and allowed no runs. At this point the Astros were already up 4-0, now they had to rely on their bullpen for the final two innings. An eighth inning homerun by Gleyber Torres wasn’t enough for a comeback and the Yankees lost 4-1, going down in the series 2-1.
Game three got postponed a day due to weather, so both teams had a chance to give a rest to the bullpen for the next game. Game four took place the next day with two starters going on full rest in Zack Greinke for the Astros and Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees. The Astros belted two three-run homeruns to power them to a win 8-3 and go up 3-1 in the series.
Now it came to do or die time for the Yankees, if they win, they survive, if they lose their season is done. In game five we had another potential Cy Young winner going for the Astros in Justin Verlander and after a rough first inning giving up four runs, he settled down and didn’t allow a run the rest of the game. However, those four runs proved to be enough for the Yankees, winning 4-1 and bringing the series back to Houston.
For game six the Astros decided to save Gerrit Cole in case a game seven was necessary, so they went with Brad Peacock. Peacock got some much-needed help in the first inning when Yuli Gurriel hit a three-run homerun to give the Astros a 3-0 lead. The Yankees struck right back, scoring two runs over the next three innings, cutting the score to 3-2.
In the sixth inning Alex Bregman drove in a run for the Astros, giving them a 4-2 lead and putting them into a great position. Then one of the best relievers over the course of the season came in to put the Astros in the World Series, Roberto Osuna came in for the ninth inning where he let up a single then struck out the next batter. With one on and one out, MVP candidate DJ LeMahieu came up to the plate and tied the game up after a 10-pitch at bat, hitting a game tying home run in the ninth.
Aroldis Chapman came in at the bottom of the ninth, trying to take the game to extra innings, this would not happen. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Chapman walked Springer and Altuve came up to the plate. On a 2-1 count, Chapman threw a slider that did not break enough, Altuve crushed the ball over the wall, giving the Astros a 6-4 win on a walk off home run and giving the Astros the series win.
The Astros will now be going to their second World Series in the past three seasons when the face off against the Washington Nationals. This series will be a matchup between two great starting rotations. If the series can live up to expectations than it will be one of the best pitching staff matchups in recent World Series memory.