HOUSTON — The Houston Astros defeated the Yankees, 2-1 in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series Friday night.
The Astros carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning on the strength of pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who allowed four hits while striking out nine through the first six frames. His performance comes two years after he beat the Yankees in the AL wild-card game.
Both runs came in the fourth inning off Masahiro Tanaka. Jose Altuve sparked the rally with a one-out single and stole second before Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel followed with RBI singles.
Tanaka also allowed just four hits over the first six innings, with three coming in the Astros’ fourth.
With 2 outs in the top of the ninth inning, Greg Bird hit a homerun, trimming the deficit, 2-1. But the Astros would go on to defeat the Yankees, 2-1.
Both teams are set to play Saturday at 4 p.m. Justin Verlander will start Game 2 for the Astros, Luis Severino will take the mound for the Yankes.
