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Fans Feeling Confident As Yankees Head Back To Houston For Game 6 Of ALCS

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York Yankees fans are feeling confident as the team heads back to Houston where they'll hopefully punch their ticket to the World Series.

With the crack of Gary Sanchez's bat, the Yankees defeated the Astros Wednesday, a 5-0 victory in Game 5 for a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.

"Yankees going all the way! Once we go to Houston, we taking it," said fan Louie Rodriguez.

After overcoming a series deficit by winning three in a row at home, they're just looking for one more win and they've got the momentum.

"I went to the game last night," said Bronx resident Gregory Serdahl. "The feeling was powerful, it was overwhelming."

This year, fans are praising players in an unusual way. While a "thumbs down" typically means a bad thing, this season it's a celebratory gesture which started at a Yankees/Rays game at CitiField.

"The Mets fan went like this so we just followed up with that and kept going," said Rodriguez. "Now when Houston messes up, we go 'thumbs down.'"

The team may be nicknamed the Baby Bombers because of their young roster, but players has proven to be mature in the post-season and laser focused.

"Not a rebuilding team. I think the team has arrived early and I don't see a more talented team in baseball right now," one fan said.

The teams head back to Houston for Game 6 on Friday night, when Justin Verlander and the reeling Astros will try to regain their footing following an off day and force a decisive Game 7. Luis Severino is scheduled to start for New York.

To take the series, the Yankees knew they needed to win at least one game started by Keuchel or Verlander, both Cy Young Award winners. Now they've done that — and they don't want to let Houston back up.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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