HOUSTON — The Yankees won Game 1 and that was as close to vital as openers in a playoff series get.
They needed to establish instantly that this would not be 2017 redux, when they couldn’t win in Houston, and without the home-field edge then (like now) they couldn’t win the ALCS. The Yanks also knew that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were lined up next and, thus, lose Game 1 and there was a pretty clear path to being down 0-3 in the best of seven and suddenly winter would be zooming toward them fast.
But even with that substantial Game 1 triumph for the Yanks, Verlander and Cole still loomed over this series.