Francesa: Yankees' Best Bet To Win ALCS Will Be In Game 6
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- The Astros' three-day trip to New York turned a confident team into a frustrated one, WFAN's Mike Francesa said Thursday, a day after the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the ALCS.
Francesa said he was sitting near the Astros' dugout during Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.
"I could see how, with each at-bat, they were just getting more and more upset," he said. "I saw them banging bats and banging helmets. For the first time you saw them, they're wondering, 'What is going on?'
"In Houston, I am sure they are in complete panic right now about what is going on in this series," he added."
The Astros led the majors with a .282 team batting average and 896 runs scored. But in the ALCS, they are hitting .147 and have scored just nine runs.
"If you take (Jose) Altuve, (Carlos) Correa and (Yuli) Gurriel out of that lineup, they don't have anything," Francesa said. "They've done absolutely nothing. And give the Yankee scouts credit for what they've done with their pitching game plan, and give the Yankees' starting pitching an incredible amount of credit for what they've done, and that's really been the difference. The Yankees' starting pitching in this series has been off the charts."
MORE: Fans Feeling Confident As Yankees Head Back To Houston For Game 6 Of ALCS
But Francesa cautioned against Yankees fans making World Series plans, noting that no visiting team has won a game in the series yet. He said the Yankees' best chance to close out the series will be in Game 6, when the ALCS moves back to Houston.
"There are many series where after six games, if there's been no breakthrough (visiting team winning), you don't get the breakthrough on the road in Game 7," Francesa said.
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