Astros vs. Yankees AL Championship Series (2-2)


Date: Wednesday, Oct. 18
Time: 5:08 p.m. ET
Location: Yankee Stadium -- New York
Starting Pitchers: Dallas Kuechel vs. Masahiro Tanaka
TV Channel: FS1 (check local listings)
Online Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Live Stats: GameTracker

In a rerun of the ALDS, the Yankees fell behind 2-0 on the road and stormed back to tie the series at home. Aaron Judge has caught fire in the ALCS, and this time there's another key difference: The Yankees have a third game at home against the Astros. If they win this one, they'll take a pivotal 3-2 lead back to Houston, where the Astros would have to win two straight to close out the pesky Yankees. This Yankee team doesn't have the villainous feel of the Yankees of old -- they seem to be the upstart team of the postseason.

The Astros will be giving Dallas Kuechel the ball for the all-important swing game. Kuechel has had a good postseason to this point, second only to ace Justin Verlander in terms of Houston pitching, but he'll have his work cut out for him against a Yankee lineup that loves to hit at home. After going down 4-0 on Tuesday's game, the Yankee bats lit it up for six unanswered runs to get the win. Masahiro Tanaka is having a good postseason of his own. He was dealt a tough loss in Game 1, but he's looking to recuperate with hitting and run support behind him. The Yankees don't look fatigued despite playing more games than any team this post-season, and they'll need another gem to take down Houston.