Give me more of this rivalry
The Yankees (currently eight games back in the division and 4 1/2 wild-card second-place games) look like long shots to make the playoffs. But all baseball fans should encourage them to catch fire in the second half and make it to the postseason, because a playoff series between New York and Houston would be electric.
This weekend marked the Yankees’ first trip to Houston since the Astros were denounced as cheaters and the visitors arrived ready for revenge. The Astros were eliminated in the first two games of the series, including a dominant 129 pitching complete game by Gerrit Cole on Saturday.
The only run in that 1-0 win at New York came with a home run by Aaron Judge. As Judge rounded third base, he tugged on his jersey in an apparent reference to José Altuve pleading with his teammates not to remove their jersey after his home run in the 2019 ALCS final.
Altuve’s jerk on his jersey became the subject of outlandish theories after the Astros’ cheating came to light in 2019. While the Houston trash can scheme was not used during the 2019 season, they began to Rumors circulated that Astros players wore stamps under their jerseys that could be used to transmit signals and that Altuve did not want his shirt ripped off and the buzzer exposed. Altuve said he was just trying to hide an unfinished tattoo.
ESPN’s Marly Rivera asked Judge after the game if his gesture was “a little message to the opposing dugout” and Judge hilariously sidestepped the question.
“As long as they keep the roof closed in here, it’s pretty cold,” Judge said. “So it’s just so my team knows it needs to buckle up a bit.”
The Astros noticed. After Martín Maldonado homered in the third on Sunday, he lowered his neck as if to say, “Look, there’s no bell here.”
“It was a bit hot” Maldonado said after the game. “Trying to get some air inside my shirt.”
However, Gary Sanchez bounced back in the eighth, with a three-run homer that extended the Yankees’ lead to five. He did the same sweater pull and when he got to the dugout, Rougned Odor was waiting for him with a jacket. You know, because it’s cold in there.
(Why Yankees team personnel packed jackets for a trip to Houston in July is a mystery that will have to be explored at a later date.)
But it was Altuve and the Astros who got the last laugh, with six runs in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Altuve’s three-run homer off Chad Green.
As Altuve approached the plate, Maldonado began to signal Altuve to remove his shirt. Then Maldonado and a few other Astros ripped off his jersey.
The sight of a shirtless Altuve celebrating a dramatic victory after being the target of so much trash talk was incredible. But these teams won’t be playing again this season, so fans will only have to wait for a playoff showdown when the stakes get even higher.
The best of you
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For the world of sports
The English Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka suffered racist abuse after losing the penalty shootout against Italy. … The FBI says arrests at a hotel near where the MLB All-Star Game will be played were not related to the event. … Former NBC Sports hockey analyst Pierre McGuire is accepting a job with the senators.
Giannis has been a lot of fun to watch
The Suns took the L, but also PJ Tucker
Tons of fans could enter Wembley for the Euro final no tickets
The Braves were ready to hit the road for the All-Star break.
Hopefully they don’t cut this guy off and watch him become an All-Star
DK Metcalf is a phenomenon
But he can’t hit a baseball
No sports
A Wyoming rancher survived for two days. in bottled water and beer after being trapped under an ATV. … Death Valley reached 130 degrees, tying its own record for the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth. … An unopened cartridge of Super mario 64 set a record selling at auction for $ 1.5 million.
Richard Branson did the space thing
A good song
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.