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Keidel: As Verlander Reminded The Yankees, Pitching Still Rules

By Jason Keidel
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So the magical run hit a roadblock, at least for one night.

After ripping off three straight wins, and seeming to steal all the mojo and momentum from the Astros in this incredibly even AL Championship Series, the Yankees couldn't seal the deal in Houston in Game 6.

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The Yankees' cardiac approach to the playoffs has a few inherent risks. And the problem with spotting the enemy two games is they might win another and make things a little more complicated.

It's not sexy to say this, but the main difference between the two teams is that one has Justin Verlander and the other doesn't. In order to stop one magical or monolithic force you need another, and Verlander is exactly that.

Game 6
The Astros' Justin Verlander throws a pitch against the Yankees during the first inning of Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Oct. 20, 2017 in Houston. (Photo by Eric Christian Smith - Pool/Getty Images)

Where do we start? Verlander is 9-0 with the Astros since he arrived at the end of August. In September, he went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA. In October, he's 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA. Not to mention, with his seven shutout innings on Friday night, he's now thrown 24 straight scoreless frames in elimination games, which speaks to his talent and temerity.

Overall, Verlander is 4-1 with 1.21 ERA in elimination games. Sadly for the Yankees, he pitched Friday night with his team's back against the wall.

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The Yankees figured out Dallas Keuchel in winning their third straight ALCS game, so the growing hope was that they would solve Verlander, with familiarity breeding comfort, not contempt. But there was nothing comfy or cozy about Verlander yet again in Game 6. He was consistently throwing in the high 90s, while painting corners and constantly changing the height of his pitches. And as A-Rod and Big Papi said in the FS1 studio before the game, Verlander is not only nasty, he can actually summon some surreal reserve in the late innings, boosting his fastball to 100 mph when needed.

The score says the Astros won 7-1, though that is a bit misleading. For a while, Luis Severino was every bit the force Verlander was, matching zeroes for four innings, allowing just one hit to that point. The only difference between the two pitchers is one is human and the other isn't. Severino came apart in the fifth, and even the Yankees bullpen stumbled. When the wizardry of David Robertson doesn't mesmerize the opposing hitters, you know it will be a bad night. And then the last few innings of Game 6 turned into a rare laugher for the hometown Astros.

Surely Yankees fans were tired of seeing Astros round the bases like a carousel, of seeing Verlander send another bewildered Bomber back to the dugout after strike three, and of seeing Kate Upton gleefully slap high-fives with her friends after every punch-out. And surely Yankees fans did not want to hear the words "Game 7" from anyone.

But let's not pretend the Astros are pushovers, or that the Yankees entered this series as the chalk. Houston had the best offense in baseball this season. Its lineup is loaded with big boppers, line-drive machines, and a man named Jose Altuve, who somehow gets 200 hits every darn season, including a two-run single and solo homer on Friday night.

Not only were the Astros favored to win the ALCS, they won the first two games, even if they feel like they were played a month ago. Once the Yankees got rolling in the Bronx many of us simply assumed the epic momentum would carry over and overwhelm Houston and their Astros.

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Someone forgot to give Verlander the memo. In the Year of the Homer, we've often forgotten that pitching, at its purest, when it morphs from job to craft to art form, still beats any bat or batter in the world. This game was a lesson in that axiom, no more complex than the fact that Justin Verlander turned back the clock and the game for one night, reminding us that the pitcher, when on his game, is still the boss.

But if there's a silver lining, a bright spot in the dark clouds of that beating in Game 6, it's that Game 7 will not feature Verlander or Keuchel. And there's one immutable truth that favors the Yankees: The Astros do not have the pitching edge in any game unless either one is on the hill.

And the Yankees get to turn to their big-game hunter and ageless ace, CC Sabathia, in Game 7.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel

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