ALCS: Astros on Verge of Eliminating Yankees
The Astros are not going to give up on their long-term chase for the Yankees, even if they are now only a game back of the team for the second AL Wild Card spot. While that’s still two games away, the Astros have moved closer to actually clinching, or tying into, the lead for the Wild Card.
In a game Thursday night at Minute Maid Park, Carlos Correa’s walk-off single sealed the Astros win, giving them 10 games with an AL Wild Card spot.
It took Correa a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to seal it. He had grounded into a force out in the fourth, and after a walk and a single, he took off for third. And on the next pitch, he lined a drive straight from the left field foul pole over the left field wall for a single that turned out to be the one that tied the game.
“I don’t know what he was trying to do, but he just got it over the wall and I was just happy I got another chance,” Correa said of his game-winning single. “Sometimes things happen that you can’t control, you just try to put the team in the best position possible and I was fortunate enough to do that and take the lead and get the win.”
The Astros have now won seven straight games, which is the longest winning streak since the 2005 team went 30 games before losing at the end of July to the Red Sox.
“It’s exciting for our fans and our employees, we have been putting in a lot of hard work and you want to see us come out on top,” Astros president of baseball operations John Hart said. “And so, yeah, it’s been really hard and it’s been an unusual thing, but there’s some good feeling going into tonight’s game.”
The Astros now have 18 games to reach the point of no return and clinch at least a playoff spot. With 10