HOUSTON, TX (SNN-TV) – Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings to lead Houston over the New York Yankees 4-2 in their AL Championship Series opener last night.
Verlander didn’t allow a baserunner after the third inning, retiring his last 11 batters with nine strikeouts. The veteran righty also set a major league record with his eighth double-digit strikeout game in the postseason. He passed Clayton Kershaw to become the career leader in postseason strikeouts with 219.
As for the Astros at the plate, Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer in the sixth. Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña also went deep as Houston improved to 4-0 in the playoffs.
The Astros are in their sixth consecutive ALCS, looking to reach the World Series for the fourth time in that span, against a New York team in the LCS for the first time since being eliminated by Houston in 2019.
