The Yankees are on the brink of elimination after the still-unbeaten Astros dominated Game 3 to the tune of a 5-0 win.
The New York Yankees clubhouse went silent. During the regular season — win or loss — New York always played music over the speakers after games.
But that pattern died Saturday after the Yankees lost 5-0 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, putting them in a 3-0 deficit to the Houston Astros, facing a sweep and elimination on Sunday.
As looming disappointment faced them square in the face, the Yankees struggled to come up with words on how they could come back in a series down three games against an Astros team that has not lost in the 2022 playoffs so far.
«This isn’t ideal,» Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. «We just got to win tomorrow. It sucks tonight. It’s gonna suck. It’s gonna sting. And we just got to figure out a way to win.»
New York previously faced elimination in the series against the Cleveland Guardians, going down 2-1, before winning Games 4 and 5 to punch a ticket to the ALCS.
But New York faces significantly higher obstacles in trying to defeat the Astros, who looked like the better baseball team in every aspect of Saturday’s contest. Houston received strong starting pitching from Cristian Javier — who went 5⅓ innings, allowing no runs on one hit, three walks and five strikeouts — and the Astros’ offense came through, with its RBIs coming from Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez and Chas McCormick, the bottom three hitters in their lineup.
«We faced elimination before earlier this postseason, and guys have faced elimination in their careers,» Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader said.
