Yankees advance to ALCS in 3 years

The New York Yankees are ready for a rematch with the Houston Astros. Yankees beat Cleveland 5-1 in Game 5 of the American League Division Series (ALDS) held in the Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, with the homers of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. The Yankees will meet the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), a best-of-seven playoff series. The match between the Yankees and Astros will be their first in three years since 2019 and the third in the past six seasons.

“My ultimate goal is to go out there and win a World Series, and the Astros are a team that’s always been in the way,” Judge said. The World Series dreams of the Yankees were crushed in a seven-game championship series in 2017, when Judge made his MLB debut, and again in a six-game series in 2019.

The rain had postponed ALDS games twice, and the Yankees moved to Houston right away and will encounter the Astros on Thursday in ALCS Game 1. Having completed a three-game ALDS sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the Astros will have their ace Justin Verlander ready for Game 1 start. On the other hand, the Yankees had Gerrit Cole already pitch twice, in Game 1 and Game 4, in a best-of-five series, and will start Jameson Tallion for Game 1 with the Astros.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com