LeMahieu, Hicks power Yankees in 4-run 1st
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NEW YORK -- With two swings, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks breathed new life into Yankee Stadium on Friday night. As it turns out, they did the same for the Yankees’ season.
The two belted home runs against Justin Verlander in the first inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, erasing an early deficit that had the Bronx crowd feeling uneasy. James Paxton made the runs stand up, pitching six superb innings en route to a 4-1 win that sends the series back to Houston for Game 6 on Saturday night.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | NYY 7, HOU 0 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | HOU 3, NYY 2 (11) | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 15 | HOU 4, NYY 1 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 17 | HOU 8, NYY 3 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 18 | NYY 4, HOU 1 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 19 | HOU 6, NYY 4 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “It was huge to get off to that start, especially after they scored a run in the first inning,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I think it really got our crowd into it even more so. And really, Pax took it from there.”
Friday night marked the 405th game in Yankees postseason history, but the two-homer first inning was the first of its kind for New York. It was also the first time Verlander had allowed four runs in one inning in 86 games with the Astros.
The power boost proved to be necessary, as Verlander settled in to retire 20 of the next 21 batters following Hicks’ blast. Didi Gregorius’ two-out single in the fourth accounted for the Yanks’ lone baserunner the rest of the night.
“Those four runs were huge,” Paxton said. “To jump on a pitcher as good as Verlander and get ahead like that, it maybe allowed me to be a bit more aggressive in spots that we may not have been. So that was big.”
The game started off as a continuation of the Yankees’ ugly loss the previous night, with Houston scoring a run in the top of the first on an infield single, a groundout, a passed ball and a wild pitch. The Yankee Stadium fans seemed lifeless aside from some Bronx cheers aimed in catcher Gary Sánchez’s direction.
LeMahieu changed that with one swing, launching a 94 mph fastball into the seats in right-center field. The crowd came alive, sensing things could be different following three lackluster losses that left New York on the brink of elimination.
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“He got the fire started,” Aaron Judge said of LeMahieu. “For us to tie it back up and reset back to zero, get the crowd back into it, it was huge for us. I think once you're down 1-0, I don't know if the crowd was thinking it was going to be like the game before, but once DJ hit that home run it was back on and rowdy as ever.”
The leadoff home run was the first by a Yankee in the postseason since Derek Jeter took Jered Weaver of the Angels deep to start Game 3 of the 2009 ALCS.
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“We needed a good start,” LeMahieu said. “I was just trying to get on base, hit something hard and get things going and put a pretty good swing on it.”
Judge followed with a single off Verlander, then Gleyber Torres doubled to left field, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out.
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Giancarlo Stanton, making his return to the lineup after missing the past three with a quad injury, struck out for the first out of the inning. That extended the Yankees’ hitless streak with runners in scoring position to 15 at-bats, leaving some to wonder whether they would get another clutch hit this season.
Hicks fell behind with two quick strikes, but he worked the count full before lining a 3-2 slider down the right-field line, drilling it off the foul pole for a three-run homer and a 4-1 Yanks lead.
“The first three pitches seemed to go kind of quick; I just felt like I just needed to slow down and see the ball,” Hicks said. “I think I got two fastballs after that up in the zone and I saw them very well. That's kind of where I was at. I needed to see a fastball to get comfortable. That's kind of where the confidence started to build, [so] that all I needed to do was see the pitch and read the pitch.
“That's kind of what I've been doing this whole postseason, is kind of seeing the ball and reacting. I was able to get a slider right there up in the zone and I was able to hit it well and keep it fair.”
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Boone knew Hicks’ ball was hit hard enough to leave the yard. What he didn’t know is whether it would stay fair.
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“I didn't race up to look at it,” Boone said. “A lot of times what I do, especially in our dugout, anytime there's a ball hit, I go right to the hitter, because the hitter will kind of tell you what happened, whether it's a foul ball. So I didn't climb the stairs or anything. I'm in my spot there, and I just watched Aaron and kind of listened to the crowd.”
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The noise Boone heard was unmistakable, as the 48,483 in attendance exploded with excitement. The four-run first matched the Yankees’ total run output from Games 3 and 4, and although Verlander dominated over the next six innings, the early attack was enough for the Yanks to live another day.
“I think we all kind of expected something good to happen today, just the way the last couple days went,” LeMahieu said. “First inning, for us to do it, I think that allowed Pax to settle in a little bit and kind of all of us to get our swag on a little bit again.”