Major League Baseball

2022 MLB Playoffs: Yankees return to New York down 2-0 in ALCS vs. Astros

Updated Oct. 21, 2022 1:24 a.m. ET

By Deesha Thosar
FOX Sports MLB Writer

HOUSTON — The Yankees are flying back to the Bronx facing a 2-0 series deficit.

The last time they won a best-of-seven series after falling behind two games to none was the 1996 World Series. But the ‘96 Yankees squad that defeated the Atlanta Braves and won the championship had Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Darryl Strawberry, Paul O'Neill, Cecil Fielder, Wade Boggs and Tino Martinez in its lineup.

This 2022 Yankees team has a gaping black hole in the bottom of the order. Through seven innings against Astros left-handed starter Framber Valdez in Game 2 of the ALCS, New York's 6-7-8-9 hitters combined to go 1-for-11 with seven strikeouts. Once Valdez got through Harrison Bader, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres at the top, the rest of the order was a breeze.

It didn't take long for Valdez to approach his at-bats against Josh Donaldson, Kyle Higashioka, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera like they were automatic outs. Particularly on a night when none of the Yankees sluggers connected for home runs, their lineup looked so shallow that it was tough to believe this team won the division and made it as far as the second round of the playoffs.

Across the first two games of this series, Yankees hitters combined to strike out 30 times. For those of us who are not mathematicians, that means the Yankees have so far struck out about 55% of the time against Astros pitching.

"We got a great offense," Judge said. "I think we just gotta get back to what helped us win a division, and we’ll be where we want to be. That’s moving guys over and coming up with that big hit. But we’ll figure it out."

The Yankees plan to take a step back on their off-day Friday and assess what went wrong with their offensive approach in Houston. For some of New York’s players, Minute Maid Park still haunts their memories following their three previous postseason losses to the Astros since 2015.

At least beginning Saturday in Game 3 of the ALCS, the Yankees can try to make up for their deficit with home-field advantage. No. 1 on the priority list will be putting the ball in play.

"We gotta shorten up a little bit and put the ball in play," Stanton said. "I don’t think we’re trying to do too much. We all have to make mid-at-bat adjustments in order to put the ball in play. The game’s extremely fast. They’re reading swings, reading body language, and we gotta be able to counteract that."

It's not like the Yankees were tasked with overcoming a double-digit deficit Thursday. From the fifth inning on, they trailed the Astros by one run. But that one run looked and felt insurmountable for a lineup that depended solely on their one-through-five hitters to perform.

New York's supporting cast was absent, and the Astros needed just one mistake from Yankees right-hander Luis Severino to earn a 3-2 win in Game 2 at Minute Maid Park.

Severino was feisty and solid in his second start of the playoffs and just his fifth since July 13. While every excellent starter will make a mistake or two over the course of an outing, he can't get away with them as easily — or at all — when it's the Astros digging into the box.

Alex Bregman punished Severino for a four-seam fastball dealt inside and up, a pitch that is exactly in the third baseman's wheelhouse. Bregman didn't even need to get all of it to deposit the 97 mph heater into the left-field seats for a three-run home run that put Houston up 3-0 in the third inning.

Alex Bregman blasts a home run to put the Astros on the board

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman blasts a home run deep to left field to put the Astros up 3-0 against the New York Yankees.

"It wasn’t a terrible pitch at all," Yankees catcher Higashioka said. "I guess in a perfect world, it could be higher. I think even he’ll admit he didn’t really hit it well off the bat. But he hit it well enough to get it out."

Alas, Severino's final line looked worse than how he actually pitched. He held Jose Altuve hitless in three at-bats against him, and Altuve is now 0-for-23 in the postseason. Severino also struck out slugger Yordan Alvarez twice, the last one on a perfect, 99 mph, high fastball that got Alvarez to swing and miss.

Severino threw 5⅓ innings and 82 pitches before Yankees manager Aaron Boone shifted to the bullpen in the sixth.

"We did a good job the first two games," Bregman said afterward. "Just got to keep playing hard, keep competing. It's fun playing in the postseason. Great atmosphere here, great atmosphere there. Just looking forward to competing."

As the series picks up Saturday at Yankee Stadium, ace Gerrit Cole will take the mound, followed by southpaw Nestor Cortes on Sunday. But starting pitching hasn't been the problem for the Yankees this series. Their bats need to do more damage, particularly the bottom half of the order, if they are to stand any chance of repeating what the ‘96 Yankees achieved.

"It's always a great pleasure to pitch at home in front of our fans," Cole said Thursday of taking the series back to the Bronx. "I'm sure there will be a bunch of pageantry and everything, so it should be a nice night."

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for the New York Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.