Yankees slumping at plate, fall behind 2-1 to Astros in ALCS

NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius turned on a first-pitch fastball from Gerrit Cole with two on and two outs in the fifth inning and sent it soaring toward the right-field seats. The crowd at Yankee Stadium rose and roared, hoping for a go-ahead drive.

"I think every flyball in 2019 is a homer," Houston manager AJ Hinch said. "It's kind of been conditioned that way."

Gregorius stood at the plate, watching, then took some tentative steps toward first base as Josh Reddick gloved the ball a step in front of the right-field wall, 343 feet away.

"I missed it," Gregorius said. "I know I didn't have all of it."

New York stranded nine during a 4-1 loss to Houston on Tuesday night that put the Yankees in a 2-1 AL Championship Series deficit, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Gregorius, who hit a grand slam against Minnesota in the previous playoff round, left the bases loaded in the first when he hit an inning-ending groundout — also on the first pitch. He went 0 for 4 and saw just six pitches after averaging 4.01 per plate appearance during the regular season.

"Most of the game was on me," he said. "I didn't come through, so I was the one that failed, not the whole team."

New York averaged 4.06 pitches per plate appearance during the regular season, second to Seattle's 4.11. But the Yankees had a hyper-aggressive approach on Cole, with Aaron Judge, Edwin Encarnación and Gregorius hitting the first pitch in the opening inning. Encarnación also saw just one pitch in the third.

"I felt like tonight a little bit, and even me especially, chased a lot of stuff out of the zone," Judge said. "When you chase stuff out of the zone with the type of caliber pitching they've got, especially what Gerrit Cole has been doing, you're going to be in trouble. So the thing is...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Yankees-slumping-at-plate-fall-behind-2-1-to-14537273.php