Roks began as a way to make ice a little more fun and personable. Now it’s teaming up with sports teams, proving that even the smallest ideas can melt into something big.
HOUSTON, Texas — What started as a passion project during the COVID-19 pandemic has frozen into a full-fledged business.
Roks crafts custom ice cube trays with designs ranging from corporate branding to personal monograms and sports teams, most recently collaborating with the Houston Astros.
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The 2025 MLB season is barreling toward its most electric stretch, the playoffs.
This is the time when rosters tighten, rotations shorten, and every pitch carries the weight of an entire city’s hopes. The margins are razor-thin, and only the most complete teams survive the October gauntlet.
While every playoff-bound club dreams of hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy, a few stand out as legitimate front-runners. They combine deep pitching staffs, explosive offenses, and postseason-tested leadership.
Alongside them is a dark horse capable of derailing even the most carefully laid championship plans.
Atlanta Braves: The Relentless Machine
The Braves enter the postseason as one of baseball’s most consistent forces. Year after year, they produce one of the league’s best run differentials and dominate at the plate. In 2025, that balance between firepower and pitching depth puts them squarely among the favorites.
Why They’re a Contender
Atlanta’s offense remains an engine of destruction. Their lineup blends power, patience, and speed, making it a nightmare for opposing pitchers. The rotation is equally formidable.
Key Players
Ronald Acuña Jr.: Acuña Jr continues to redefine the leadoff role. His blend of 30+ home run power and elite baserunning forces pitchers to labor from the very first at-bat. He also sets the tone defensively, covering massive ground in right field.
Spencer Strider: Strider’s strikeout arsenal remains unmatched. With an upper-90s fastball and wipeout slider, he can dominate even the deepest playoff lineups.
It’s no surprise that discussions around the odds to win the World Series often feature Atlanta near the top; they’re a team built for both the 162-game grind and the win-or-go-home chaos of October.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Star-Powered Juggernaut
No team in recent memory blends star power and depth quite like the Dodgers. They’ve built an organization where losing a key starter doesn’t derail the season; it just means the next All-Star-caliber player steps up.
Why They’re a Contender
The Dodgers’ offensive depth is awe-inspiring. They can stack their lineup with hitters who each pose a legitimate long-ball threat, while their bench remains one of the league’s best. On the pitching side, their rotation boasts frontline dominance and a flexible bullpen.
Key Players
Mookie Betts: Betts remains one of the game’s most complete players, excelling in every facet, power, average, speed, defense, and leadership. His October track record is proof of his big-game pedigree.
Shohei Ohtani: While his two-way role is managed carefully, Ohtani’s ability to change a game with either his bat or arm makes him the ultimate postseason weapon. His presence alone alters opposing teams’ game plans.
If the Dodgers stay healthy, they’re as dangerous as any team in baseball, perhaps more so because of their adaptability across a long playoff run.
Houston Astros: The October Specialists
PHOTO: Lesly Juarez/Unsplash
Year after year, the Astros prove that playoff baseball is in their DNA. Their core has been through deep runs, and their ability to execute in big moments remains unmatched.
Why They’re a Contender
Houston thrives under pressure. They’ve developed a reputation for clutch hitting and efficient pitching in October. Even as pieces of their championship core have changed, their winning culture endures.
Key Players
Yordan Álvarez: Few hitters in the game can match Álvarez’s combination of raw power and disciplined approach. His ability to deliver in high-leverage situations makes him one of the most feared bats in the postseason.
Framber Valdez: Valdez brings calm and control to the mound. His heavy sinker induces ground balls at a rate that frustrates power-heavy lineups, a valuable skill in tight postseason games.
The Astros’ blend of veteran leadership and postseason experience ensures they’re never intimidated by the October stage.
Dark Horse: Seattle Mariners
Seattle may not carry the same “favorite” label as Atlanta, Los Angeles, or Houston, but ignoring them would be a mistake. Their roster is young, athletic, and built around pitching depth, an ingredient that often sparks surprise playoff runs.
Why They Could Shock Everyone
The Mariners’ rotation is among the most underrated in baseball, capable of matching up with the game’s elite. Their offense, while streaky, has enough firepower to flip a game with a single swing. In a short series, that volatility can work in their favor.
Key Players
Julio Rodríguez: The face of the franchise and one of MLB’s brightest stars, Rodríguez brings dynamic offense and highlight-reel defense. His energy fuels the entire roster.
Logan Gilbert: Gilbert’s rise as a dependable frontline starter has given Seattle a true ace to match up in must-win games. His combination of velocity and command is tailor-made for success in October.
If Seattle catches fire early, they have the tools to become the postseason’s most dangerous underdog.
What Contenders Have in Common
While each of these teams has its own style, they share key characteristics that define championship-caliber baseball:
StarPower: Each club boasts multiple game-changers capable of deciding a series on their own.
PitchingDepth: From aces to lockdown relievers, they can control the strike zone in any situation.
Adaptability: They can win slugfests, grind out 2–1 nail-biters, and adjust to the unique demands of each opponent.
It’s these qualities, not just regular-season dominance, that tend to separate World Series winners from the rest.
Final Outlook on the 2025 Playoff Picture
As October approaches, the Braves, Dodgers, and Astros have positioned themselves as the most likely to navigate the postseason minefield. Their combination of talent, experience, and depth makes them formidable opponents for anyone. Yet, lurking just behind them, the Mariners stand ready to break the script.
Baseball history is full of unexpected October heroes and teams that defy the odds. In 2025, whether the favorites hold serve or the dark horse charges to the forefront, the road to the World Series promises drama, unpredictability, and unforgettable moments.
For fans, that’s the beauty of this sport, the certainty that nothing is specific, and the belief that any team still standing has a shot at glory.
TOMBALL, Texas — For Ranard Hardman, its shoe contact before eye contact.
“People always pay attention to shoes. For me personally, I look at your shoes before your face,” Hardman said.
Sneakers have always been a passion for Hardman. He also loves art and found a way to combine the two. Ten years ago he launched Nard Got Sole.
“I started off doing different Joran color waves,” Hardman said. “Then it gradually went into sports.”
Hardman added he has done many Astros designs through the years, “my regular clients get a new pair every year and also we have those clients getting ready for the playoffs, it’s a thing.”
TOMBALL, Texas — For Ranard Hardman, its shoe contact before eye contact.
“People always pay attention to shoes. For me personally, I look at your shoes before your face,” Hardman said.
Sneakers have always been a passion for Hardman. He also loves art and found a way to combine the two. Ten years ago he launched Nard Got Sole.
“I started off doing different Joran color waves,” Hardman said. “Then it gradually went into sports.”
Hardman added he has done many Astros designs through the years, “my regular clients get a new pair every year and also we have those clients getting ready for the playoffs, it’s a thing.”
HOUSTON – After finishing Spring Training, the Houston Astros will take the field for the first time on March 28 for the first leg of a four-game series against the New York Yankees.
The Yankees have become a familiar AL postseason foe for the Astros since their first World Series run in 2017. In their most recent postseason series, the Astros cruised to a 4-0 sweep in the 2022 ALCS.
Check out our pregame coverage in the KPRC 2+ livestream player below:
The Pitching Matchup
The Astros will be hosting the Yankees, who have been a familiar AL foe for the Astros since their first World Series run in 2017. In their most recent postseason series, the Astros cruised to a 4-0 sweep in the 2022 ALCS.
The Astros will be starting pitcher Framber Valdez, while the Yankees will start Nestor Cortes.
The Lineup
Astros Lineup 3/28/2024 (KPRC 2)
Jose Altuve will lead off for the Astros, followed by Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu are at the four and five spots respectively, and the order finishes with Chaz McCormick, Jeremy Pena and Jake Meyers.
Gleyber Tores will lead off for New York, with Juan Soto making his first regular season appearance for the Yanks in the two-spot. Aaron Judge will bat third, followed by Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe and another new face, Alex Verdugo. Their order concludes with Jose Trevino and Oswaldo Cabrera.
Just as we expected, the weather will be phenomenal during today’s game. There’s hardly a cloud in the sky, and temperatures will hover around the mid-70s around first pitch at 3:10 p.m. CDT. They’ll drop into the 60s as the sun sets, but you won’t need to worry about any weather delays for this one!
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
HOUSTON — Adolis García homered twice and drove in five runs as the Texas Rangers reached the World Series with an 11-4 blowout of the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series on Monday night.
García went deep for the fourth straight game and set a record for RBIs in a postseason series with 15. Corey Seager got things started for the Rangers with a long home run in the first inning, and Nathaniel Lowe also went deep to give Texas — one of six major league teams without a World Series title — its first berth in the Fall Classic since consecutive trips in 2010 and 2011.
After winning their Lone Star State showdown with Houston, the wild-card Rangers open the World Series at home Friday night against Arizona or Philadelphia, who play the decisive Game 7 of their NLCS on Tuesday night.
Bruce Bochy, who came out of retirement this season to manage the Rangers, became the first skipper to win a League Championship Series with three different teams, after previously leading San Diego and San Francisco to NL pennants.
Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros, after getting into another bench-clearing scuffle with the Texas Rangers, rallied for a 5-4 victory in a wild and testy Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Friday.
After winning all three games at rival Texas, the defending champion Astros head home to Houston needing one win to reach a third consecutive World Series. They lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff going into Game 6 on Sunday night.
Adolis García punctuated his towering three-run homer in the sixth with a slow trot and an empathic spike of his bat after watching the ball clear the wall to give Texas a 4-2 lead.
When the slugger came to bat again with a runner on first in the eighth, Bryan Abreu hit García on the left arm with a pitch. An angry García immediately turned to get in the face of catcher Martín Maldonado — the two also jawed nose-to-nose when García touched home plate after his grand slam in Houston on July 26.
Both benches and bullpens cleared, and once things settled down, García, Abreu and Astros manager Dusty Baker had been ejected.
Jordan Montgomery shut down the Houston Astros and Leody Taveras homered as the Texas Rangers did just enough against Justin Verlander to get a 2-0 win in the opener of the AL Championship Series on Sunday night.
Montgomery pitched five-hit ball over 6 1/3 innings and Taveras provided a two-run lead with his solo homer in the fifth. Evan Carter, a 21-year-old rookie, doubled and scored in the second and made two nifty defensive plays in left field.
“We just found a way to get a couple of runs across the board,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was the difference in the game, obviously. But our guy was really good, Monty, terrific job he did. And he got in a couple of jams there and found a way to get out of it.”
In the ALCS for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2010-11, the Rangers improved to 6-0 this postseason after sweeping the Rays in the Wild Card Series and the Orioles in the Division Series. The winning streak followed losses in their previous six playoff games against Toronto in the ALDS in 2015 and 2016.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday in Houston.
The defending champion Astros, in the ALCS for a seventh straight year, had a tough time getting anything going against Montgomery. The top four batters in Houston’s lineup were 2 for 12 with five strikeouts against the left-hander. Slugger Yordan Alvarez struck out against him three times.
Houston’s offensive woes came after it hit 16 homers and outscored the Rangers 39-10 in a three-game sweep in September. Things were much different in the first postseason meeting between these in-state rivals as they managed just five singles.
“Sometime you’ve got to say: ‘Hey, the guy threw a great game tonight against us, excellent game,’” manager Dusty Baker said. “And they say good pitching beats good hitting, but when you don’t hit, everybody wants to know what’s wrong. There’s not a whole bunch to say. He threw a real good game against us.”
Montgomery has been great in the last month, allowing just two earned runs over 27 innings in his last four starts of regular season, and posting a 2.08 ERA in three postseason starts.
Verlander allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings to mark the first time this postseason where both starters pitched into the seventh. It was the 36th postseason start for Verlander and the MLB-record 14th time he’s started a playoff series opener.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner threw 47 fastballs, getting 27 swings without a single swing and miss.
Josh Sborz walked Jose Altuve starting the eighth and was replaced by Aroldis Chapman. The Rangers turned a double play when Carter made a great grab on the track on a ball hit by Alex Bregman and Altuve was called out for not retouching second base when he retreated to first after Carter’s catch.
Altuve initially called safe, but the Rangers challenged the play, and it was overturned in a video review. Alvarez following with an inning-ending groundout.
Carter was asked about his ability to stay calm in his first playoff run.
“Oh, my gosh. This is so much fun,” he said. “That’s just all I think about. Where else would I want to be. This is awesome. I’m just trying to keep my feet grounded and just keep rolling with this team . It’s been a lot of fun.”
Jose Leclerc struck out one in a perfect ninth for the save and the Rangers’ second shutout of the playoff.
Texas’ bullpen has a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs after ranking 24th at 4.77 during the regular season.
Carter got things going for Texas with a hustle double on a grounder with one out in the second before scoring on a single by Jonah Heim. John Jung singled with two outs, Taveras walked to load the bases and Verlander limited the damage by retiring Marcus Semien on a fly ball.
Verlander had retired eight in a row when Taveras drove a hanging slider 398 feet into the seats in right field with one out in the fifth.
The Astros had chances to score in the third and fourth innings. Martín Maldonado walked with one out in the third before a two-out single by Bregman. But they were both stranded when Alvarez struck out.
Three straight singles by Chas McCormick, Mauricio Dubón and Jeremy Peña loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth. Montgomery wriggled out of the jam again when he struck out Maldonado to end the inning.
Heim walked to open the seventh and a two-out single by Taveras chased Verlander. Hector Neris took over and retired the next two batters.
Carter robbed Bregman of a hit with one out in the first. He sprinted before leaping to make the catch and crashing into the scoreboard wall in left field and knocking out one of squares.
UP NEXT
Houston LHP Framber Valdez (0-1, 10.38 ERA) opposes RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 1.32) in Game 2. Eovaldi grew up in suburban Houston and attended Alvin High School, which is also the alma mater of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
“It’s awesome,” Eovaldi said. “I’m going to have a lot of friends and family here for the game. Anytime we’re in this stage in this moment right here, being this close to the World Series, it’s a big deal. Doesn’t matter where we’re playing at, it’s a big honor for us to be here.”
New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino delivers the ball to the Boston Red Sox during the … [+] first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept.3, 2017, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
Associated Press
Perhaps the clearest thing to emerge from Brian Cashman’s lengthy state of the Yankees press conference on Friday concerned the status of Luis Severino.
During his roughly 45 minutes at the podium in the basement of Yankee Stadium and approximately 22 hours before the Astros clinched their second World Series title, Cashman gave his clearest answer when it came to status of Luis Severino, describing his status on the team “as an easy yes”.
“He’s been a really impactful pitcher, so the answer to that would be an easy yes,” Cashman said.
A little over 68 hours later, came word that the “easy yes” became official when the Yankees announced they were picking up the one-year, $15 million team option for Severino on Monday, hours before Angels GM Perry Minasian said he was not trading Shohei Ohtani, who has one year left before entering free agency.
The option is part of the four-year, $40 million contract signed by Severino in spring training 2019. At the time, he signed on the dotted line, Severino made a little over $600,000 and was coming off a spectacular 19-win season, resulting in a 10th-place finish in the AL Cy Young race won by Blake Snell.
At the time of the new deal, it was believed Severino was setting himself to cash in free agency. The original portion of the deal deal would take him through his age-28 season and the option would conclude his age-29 season, the same age Gerrit Cole was when he signed a nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.
Instead injuries constantly interfered, setting up the final year of the team-friendly deal as a second straight “prove it season” for Severino.
Before pitching well enough to get his team option picked up, Severino strained a latissimus dorsi muscle and did not make his 2019 debut until Sept. 17. He then had Tommy John surgery Feb. 27, 2020 – two weeks before the season was delayed and ultimately sliced to 60 games in two-plus months due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and then did not return from the surgery until returning on Sept. 21, 2021 for four relief appearances
At the moment 27 starting pitchers are scheduled to make at least $15 million in 2023, a list that includes Justin Verlander, who may not exercise his player option for next season after helping Houston win the World Series by winning Game 5.
In the 99-win regular season, Severino did his part by going 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts, with 112 strikeouts against 30 walks in 102 innings. He also held hitters to a slash line of .196/.263/.353 in those starts and highlighted his success by pitching seven innings of a combined one-hitter against Detroit on June 4 along with also becoming the first pitcher to strike Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. three times in his second start on April 14.
Seventeen of those starts were before he sustained right shoulder tightness on July 13 when he allowed three homers on three different pitches in two innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
It took Severino over two months to return, though not by his design. While he understood the Yankee point of view, he was hardly thrilled with being moved to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 1 after throwing from flat ground in the previous two weeks.
“I was not happy. I was not expecting that,” Severino said the day before the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas from Oakland and traded Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. “If that’s the plan they have for me to come back healthy, I have to just follow the plan.”
Perhaps as meaningful as his base statistics was performance of his three main pitches, the four-seam fastball, changeup and the slider.
Hitters batted .186 and saw 780 four-seamers as Severino averaged 96.3 mph on the pitch. Severino. Severino threw his changeup 363 times and hitters batted .235 as it averaged 88.8. Against the slider, Severino threw the pitch 342 times, held hitters to a .169 average and averaged 85.2 mph.
The velocity numbers are down from 2018 when he averaged 97.6 on 1,589 four-seamers, 88.1 mph on 1,132 sliders and 88.1 mph on 427 changeups while facing 780 hitters in 191 1/3 innings.
Last year’s performance showed Severino could pitch as effectively as he did during 2017 and 2018 when he recorded 33 of his 50 career wins. If Severino pitches as well as he did for most of last season and does it for a full season, he could set himself for an even nicer payday and another key free agent decision for the Yankees.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber rounds the bases after a two-run home run off Houston Astros … [+] starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. during the fifth inning in Game 3 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
It was slightly over a week ago when Lance McCullers Jr. stood amidst a party inside Yankee Stadium, featuring loud music players drinking various beers from the ALCS trophy and other players dancing while holding brooms to signify a dominant sweep of the Yankees.
For McCullers it was sort of a validation about the Astros being able to make a fourth World Series and make their latest appearance after moving past their 2017 cheating scandal that got uncovered in the weeks following their seven-game loss to the Washington Nationals in a fluky series where the home team lost every time.
“A lot has transpired over the last few years,” he said after midnight on Oct. 24 “A lot has been said but there’s not a lot to say anymore man. We keep coming here. We keep facing the best of the best and we keep winning. When everything happened a few years ago, we knew the one thing that we could do is we could win, and we could win and win a lot. I understand people are still not going to like us. They’re going to boo us but at some point, you have to respect what we’re doing.”
Perhaps now you have to respect what the Phillies are doing, especially when they created a fluky situation of hitting five homers off McCullers in Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday.
McCullers is the answer to the question of the trivia question of who threw 24 straight curveballs to beat the Yankees in Game 7 in 2017. Now he is the answer to the question of who the first pitcher is to allow five homers in a World Series game and the first to do so in any postseason game.
McCullers allowed a two-run homer to Bryce Harper, who as he continues this run it’s fair to wonder why the Yankees did not sign him. Then he allowed solo homers to Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh before allowing a two-run drive to Kyle Schwarber and a solo homer to Rhys Hoskins.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper watches his two-run home run during the first inning in Game 3 … [+] of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
That added up to 1,950 feet of homers for a pitcher who has allowed 57 homers in 718 2/3 regular season innings and 10 homers in 68 1/3 postseason innings before craning his neck five times in Game 3. It also led to the speculation of pitch tipping, something that in Yankee history appeared to occur in Game 6 of the 2001 World Series with Andy Pettitte and in Game 3 of the 2018 ALDS with Luis Severino in games where the Yankees lost by a combined margin of 31-3.
“I think anytime you have information you want to be able to give that to your teammates at any point,” Harper said in an attempt to downplay the tipping notion. “So anytime I can help my teammates. Throughout the whole season we’ve done that.”
As for Bohm, if he received any tips from Harper, he was not revealing.
Asked directly what Harper told you, Bohm stated: “Nothing”. Then asked did what Bryce tell you in your at-bat help, Bohm said: “Maybe”
Either way, it added an extra layer of intrigue even when internet investigators tried to figure it out after McCullers broke the previous dubious distinction of allowing four homers in a World Series game and denied any tipping tendencies.
“This has nothing to do with tipping,” McCullers told reporters. “Clearly they had a good game plan against me, and they executed better than I did.”
The first instance was Charlie Root allowing two apiece to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field in a notable game where Ruth may or may not have called one of his homers as possible retribution for bench jockeying. Then it happened when Cincinnati’s Gene Thompson served up homers
Overall there are 130 instances of a pitcher allowing five homers in any game and it actually happened eight times during the regular season with the most notable instance being Gerrit Cole on June 9 in Minnesota when he allowed five in 2 1/3 innings as part of a season where he led the American League with 33 homers allowed.
Other notable names to join the five homers allowed club include David Price, whose struggles against the Yankees included the night of July 1, 2018 when he allowed two homers to Aaron Hicks, who slugged 27 in that season and wound up with an ill-fated contract extension in Feb. 2019.
Even Zack Greinke allowed five homers when he served them up in 4 2/3 innings at Los Angeles for Arizona on Sept. 5, 2016. Josh Beckett owns a resume that includes a shutout in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series for the Marlins and a five-homer game which he achieved April 7, 2012 in Detroit at the start of the forgettable Bobby Valentine era in Boston and that came nearly three years after he did so Aug. 23, 2009 at Fenway against the Yankees.
Overall teams are 21-109 when a pitcher allows five homers with Cole being the most recent to pitch in a win. Notable names to get wins when allowing five homers, include Mike Mussina who happened to do so in a 14-7 Orioles’ win over the Angels on July 1, 1994 and Ralph Branca, whose five-homer day occurred in a complete game when the Dodgers beat the Pirates 17-10 (nice football score) on June 25, 1949.
Of course, if the Astros win the World Series and if they achieve it with McCullers pitching well in Game 7 in Houston, the five homers will be a trivia answer.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 22: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout … [+] during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros in game three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 22, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Getty Images
A child born during the 2004 ALCS in which the Red Sox became the first baseball team to overcome a three games to none deficit to win a best-of-seven series can cast his or her first votes in an election next month.
So that’s the good news for the Yankees — they don’t have to look far, either on the calendar or within their franchise’s own history, for tangential evidence it is possible to mount a miracle comeback.
The bad news is nothing else about these Yankees indicates they can provide some fraternal redemption for those Yankees by giving them some room in the history books with a stunning comeback against the Astros over the next 96 hours.
The Yankees fell into a three games to none hole in the ALCS Saturday night, when they again failed to solve Cristian Javier and a cadre of relievers in a 5-0 loss.
“Obviously this isn’t ideal,” Anthony Rizzo said. “But we’ve just got to win tomorrow. It sucks tonight. It’s gonna suck and it’s gonna sting. Tomorrow when we wake up, we’ve just got to figure out a way to win.”
Similar words, perhaps minus the sucks, were probably uttered by players on the 39 previous teams to trail three games to none in a best-of-seven series. But there’s nothing apparent in their makeup or recent performance to indicate the Yankees can begin to make the Astros sweat by extending the series to Monday, never mind by actually winning the next four games against a team that hasn’t lost four straight since April.
Only four teams have fallen behind three games to none and extended the series to at least six games. The 1998 Braves, who fell to the Padres in the six games in the NLCS, and 2020 Astros, who lost to the Rays in seven games in the ALCS, were each three years removed from winning the World Series and still possessed the championship pedigree from those runs. The 1999 Mets, who lost to the Braves in six games in the NLCS, displayed a penchant for the dramatic comeback by overcoming a two-game deficit over the final three games of the regular season before winning a one-game playoff to earn the wild card berth.
And the 2004 Red Sox were, of course, a rambunctious bunch that welcomed the historical weight they bore in pursuit of the Yankees. These Yankees, somehow growing more corporate by the year, don’t have a Kevin Millar walking around speaking for his numerous kindred souls by declaring “don’t let us win tonight” before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. The closest player the Yankees have to a Millar is their newest member, Harrison Bader, who spoke while wearing a garish rainbow-colored fur coat Saturday night and will probably have that free spirit wrung out of him soon enough.
The Red Sox of 18 years ago, even after a 19-8 loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS, could take solace in going 23-25 while being outscored by a single run — 261-260 — in 48 games against the Yankees dating back to the start of the 2003 season.
The Yankees? They’re two big comebacks in June away from being 0-fer the season against the Astros, who have outscored them 39-26 in 10 games. Ten of those runs were scored in the Yankees’ final at-bats during the games of June 23, June 26 and the second game of a doubleheader July 21.
The Yankees scored four ninth-inning runs to earn a 7-6 win on June 23, walked off with a 6-3, 10-inning victory via Aaron Judge’s three-run homer three days later and scored three times in the ninth on July 21 — again via a Judge three-run homer — in a 7-5 loss. In between the walk-off wins, the Yankees went 15 innings without a hit and were no-hit June 25 by Javier and two relievers.
“I just feel like it’s going to be a tight ballgame against the Astros no matter what,” said Gerrit Cole, who took the loss Saturday after allowing all five runs (three earned) over five-plus innings. “Certainly had my fair share of tight ballgames against them this year. I pitched against them twice. We got no-hit once and shutout the next time.”
In search of a spark, whomever makes out the Yankees lineup is shuffling the deck like it’s late March in Tampa instead of the ALCS in late October. The only player to hit in the same spot in each of the first three games is surefire AL MVP Judge, who has batted second. Three different players have batted in the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth spots.
None of it has worked. The Yankees’ mixing and matching has yielded a .128 average (12-for-94) with nine walks and 41 strikeouts. On Saturday, Javier and five relievers came within one out of a combined one-hitter before harmless back-to-back singles by Matt Carpenter and Bader.
Contrast that to 18 years ago, when Red Sox manager Terry Francona barely tinkered with the lineup over the first four games of the ALCS, a span in which he started the same nine players and made just three switches. Seventh-place hitter Jason Varitek and ninth-place hitter Bill Mueller traded spots with fifth-place hitter Millar and eighth-place hitter Orlando Cabrera for Game 3 before Francona swapped second-place hitter Mark Bellhorn and ninth-place hitter Cabrera for Game 4.
The Red Sox rewarded Francona’s patience by scoring 25 runs over the final four games of the ALCS before scoring 24 more runs and never trailing the Cardinals in a four-game sweep of the World Series.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the Yankees have no choice but to believe they can author a similar turnaround.
“Listen, at times, things might feel like a mountain,” Bader said. “But classically speaking — giving a cliche, if you will — you know you can’t get to the top without starting at the bottom.”
On Saturday night, it sure looked like they were going to stay there.
New York Yankees Aaron Judge celebrates in the locker room after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland … [+] Guardians in Game 5 of an American League Division baseball series, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Associated Press
The music was loud, the plastic covering was on the spacious carpeting, the champagne and Bud Light flowed from one player to another.
In the hour after the Yankees completed the ALDS with their 5-1 win that seemed more like a formality once they took a three-run lead about 15 minutes in, it was a somewhat modest one on the celebration scale, especially compared to some of the others to take place by them and other teams.
The celebration had all the usual components of winning a postseason series, but it was more a theme of taking care of business in a series that felt more like the extended nature of an NBA best-of-seven first round series.
After eight days where there nearly were more days off than actual games, the Yankees won a pair of elimination games and enjoyed their first playoff series clincher at home since CC Sabathia’s 121-pitch complete game in Game 5 of the 2012 ALDS against Baltimore.
Then they got ready to take their bus to the airport for their next order of business – a third ALCS against the Houston Astros.
“If you’re stuck in the past, you’re not going to go anywhere,” said Aaron Judge, who was entering his final season at Fresno State when the Yankees escaped a tough five-game series with Baltimore. “I’m going to treat it like any other series. We’ll go there with our A game and take care of business.”
The narrative of the Yankees against the Astros is finally here and whether it was the combination of not having a day off in between the ALDS and ALCS or the recent history, the celebration was more of a loud toast with an eye towards hopefully using the more expensive champagne such as winning a pennant or a World Series like they did exactly 44 years ago in Reggie Jackson’s three-homer game over the Dodgers.
The celebration was also not like the 2001 version when the Yankees somberly clinched the AL East in their first home game following the Sept. 11 attacks on Sept. 25, 2001. It paled in comparison to ones as recently as Oct. 9 when the Padres toasted often with Brut 1818 Champagne after eliminating the Mets in Game 3 of the wild-card round in a game that was highlighted by Joe Musgrove’s futile ear check as he dominated the Mets and could hardly compete with the party going on footsteps from their large clubhouse under the elevated tracks on River Avenue.
It had the touches of a raucous celebration, especially since you could hear someone yell “Who’s Your Daddy” in reference to the Josh Naylor celebration he displayed while connecting in Game 4 off ace Gerrit Cole, who was so locked in he hardly paid attention to it.
“Yeah, whatever. It’s cute,” Cole said Sunday with the look of someone still locked in while speaking at the podium in Cleveland. “It wouldn’t have bothered me in the moment and it just is kind of funny.”
Naylor’s celebration is officially called “Rock the Baby” and it annoyed Yankee fans when it was unveiled against Cole Sunday, the same way it irked White Sox fans in Chicago when he hit a grand slam earlier this season.
By the time Tuesday afternoon arrived, fans were well-versed in this and yelled “Who’s Your Daddy” every time Naylor batted. And when Wandy Peralta (in his fifth straight game) recorded the final out, Gleyber Torres perhaps showed how the Yankees truly felt.
Torres recorded the final putout when he completed the force play from Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Then after stepping on second base, Torres swung his arms back and forth four times while throwing a steely glare at Naylor in the Cleveland dugout although later on in a somber clubhouse the first baseman said he was honored at being recognized in the form of a chant.
“We got our revenge. We’re happy to beat those guys. Now they can watch on TV the next series for us,” Torres said “It’s nothing personal. Just a little thing about revenge.”
The Yankee celebration was modest with more talk about what lies next, Round 3 with the Houston Astros. The Astros won the first two rounds of the looming trilogy and as it became apparent what was on the horizon some fans could be heard chanting their favorite four-letter word before the name “Altuve.”
The New York Yankees celebrate on the field after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of an … [+] American League Division baseball series, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Associated Press
Altuve ended the last meeting between the teams with his famous homer off Aroldis Chapman, who was following the ALDS win from his home base in Miami after being instructed to stay away by the Yankees. In the month after Altuve’s game-ending homer, the details of Houston’s cheating scandal emerged with details about what they did during the seven-game ALCS over the Yankees in 2017 when the home team won every game.
Those revelations further fueled the fire and even in limited capacity due to the COVD-19 pandemic in May 2021 it was clearly evident.
Full-capacity Astros-Yankees games returned in June when a combined 180,703 fans spent a portion of their weekend watching a compelling four-game series. Over the course of 13 hours, 28 minutes, the Yankees wound getting two wins on game-ending hits in games they did not lead, got no-hit (to the delight of some people there) and got dominated by Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.
“We’ve seen each other a lot in years past in the postseason,” Judge said nearly four months ago. “Anytime we play, it’s always gonna be a good ballgame. I think the fans anticipate that and they bring their energy from the first pitch on. That’s what you love, you look forward to playing good teams, and seeing where you stack up in the AL.”
Now after their somewhat subdued celebration, seeing where they stack up in the AL is here for the Yankees.
“We know what we’re going up against,” Nestor Cortes said. “We’ve just going to battle it out. It’s going to be a tough series for both of us. Let the best team win.”
