HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings and Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña all homered to power the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees in their AL Championship Series opener. The Astros are in their sixth consecutive ALCS, looking to reach the World Series for the fourth time in that span, against a New York team in the LCS for the first time since being eliminated by Houston in 2019. The game was tied 1-all in the sixth when Gurriel connected off reliever Clarke Schmidt for a solo shot that put Houston on top. Two batters later, McCormick sent a sinker from Schmidt into right field to make it 3-1.
Verlander Ks 11 to lead Astros over Yankees 4-2 in ALCS
