A lot of the talk surrounding Tuesday night’s American League Wild Card Game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros has been about Houston ace Dallas Keuchel, and for good reason. Keuchel has been effective against the Yankees in the past but is pitching off three days’ rest for the first time in his professional career.
He has also been considerably less impressive on the road this season, compared to at home. He has given up 13 home runs in away games but only four at Minute Maid Park.
However, Keuchel was 2-0 in two starts against the Yankees this season, not allowing a run in 16 innings while striking out 21.
A quality start could be the exclamation point on what Keuchel hopes is a Cy Young Award-caliber year.
During Monday’s press conference, Keuchel tried to alleviate any concerns ahead of the winner-take-all game, noting that he has toed the rubber on short rest before, during the College World Series.
“At this point in time, the routine is there, so I feel comfortable going in,” Keuchel told reporters. “I felt great. There’s no end of the season fatigue. I’m excited, and I don’t think I’ll need any type of adrenaline.”
The task ahead of him might be a little bit more manageable due to the fact that the Yankees have been struggling at the plate recently.
The Bronx Bombers had the third-worst team batting average for the month of September, hitting .233 collectively. In August, they had a .238 batting average. Over the weekend, New York was swept by the third-place Baltimore Orioles while being outscored 22-9.
Comparatively, the Astros hit .272 as a team in September, good for fourth-best in the majors.
But who knows what could happen in one game?
All it takes is one mistake, especially in Yankee Stadium, for a pitcher’s outing to go wrong.
One Yankees hitter to watch is Carlos Beltran. In nine career at-bats versus Keuchel, Beltran has a .444 average with one home run, two RBI and one walk. Although he batted only .243 during September, he did have five homers.
And then there’s controversial slugger Alex Rodriguez. He’s been criticized in years past for lack of clutch hitting during postseason play, and his performance will be even more under the microscope given that this is a one-game playoff.
After the Yankees faced Keuchel for nine innings in Houston on June 25, Rodriquez was not shy with ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand about what he saw from the now 20-game winner.
“Tonight was just a complete domination,” Rodriquez said. “He made me look as silly as I’ve looked all year. He struck me out with a slider, a fastball and a changeup.”
In the article, Marchand pointed out that Keuchel became the first pitcher to have two complete games in his first two starts against the Yanks since Teddy Higuera did it in 1985.
On Tuesday night, Keuchel gets his third go at the Yankees batting order.
Expecting him to pitch another full nine innings on short rest may be asking too much, but with a competitor like Keuchel on the hill, you just never know.
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