What could the Yankees possibly do to follow up the thrill of last night’s victory? They had been hitless in the first until Aaron Hicks delivered a stunning three-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, and on the eve of earning himself a $19 million payday for 2022, Aaron Judge walked it off with a 3-0 missile into the left-field corner. Give the Yankees’ constant battles against the Astros since 2015, that had to feel it good.
One of the men who contributed most to New York’s recent torment at Houston’s hands is taking the Yankee Stadium mound for the first time since the 2019 ALCS: Justin Verlander.