Aaron Judge Leads Yankees Rout Of Astros 8-1 In ALCS Game 3

Aaron Judge is already an imposing player given his 6-foot-7, 282-pound frame, but he also asserted his dominance on Monday night with a three-run homer to lift the New York Yankees to an 8-1 home thrashing of the Houston Astros.

Yankees vs. Astros ALCS Game 3 Score

The 25-year-old outfielder also made a great catch to trim Houston’s lead in the American League Championship Series to 2-1. Chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” began ringing out at Yankee Stadium for Judge, the reigning Home Run Derby champion who delivered an incredible fourth inning.

“A beast,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said about his right-fielder. “An incredible athlete. A 6’ 7” guy who played some centerfield in college. He’s going to be a great recruiter for our sport. With some of the problems football has, he’s going to make it cool to play our sport. Not that it’s not cool already. He’s going to make it cooler [for big guys].”

Judge, a rookie with 56 career homers, ranks fourth on the all-time list of home runs by players 6-foot-7 or taller, behind Frank Howard (382), Richie Sexson (306) and Tony Clark (251).
“I’ve never seen anything like him,” second baseman Starlin Castro said. “For a guy who is 282 pounds, he moves and plays like a little skinny guy. First time I’ve seen anything like him. For him to move all that weight around and be so tall, I think it’s amazing.”

Astros starter Charlie Morton surrendered seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, while 37-year-old CC Sabathia pitched six shoutout innings in which he allowed three hits and four walks while striking out five.

Todd Frazier also smacked a three-run homer — his first career postseason long ball — in the second.

Dellin Betances walked both batter he faced in the ninth inning, and Tommy Kahnle issued a bases-loaded free pass to Alex Bregman that broke up the shutout.

Through three games of the ALCS, Houston has scored five runs and is hitting .169 with only three extra-base hits. They are 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Chase Headley reached on a run-scoring infield single in the fourth to mark the first hit New York has had by a designated hitter these playoffs, ending an 0-for-29 skid.

Game 4 will begin Tuesday at 5 pm EST at Yankee Stadium. Lance McCullers Jr. will start for the Astros, while righty Sonny Gray will take the mound for the Bombers. Gray was 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 regular-season starts after being acquired by New York in late July. He took the loss in Cleveland in the opener of the AL Division Series. 

The Cubs and Dodgers, meanwhile, will face off at Wrigley Field on Tuesday at 9pm EST.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 16: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a 3-run home run during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros in Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 16, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)