What Yankees' Aaron Boone thinks about 'odd' Astros' bullpen quirk - New York Post

HOUSTON — The roster submitted by the Astros to MLB had a dozen pitchers on it — none of them left-handed.

Lefty Wade Miley was on the ALDS roster when the Astros played the Rays, but he only pitched in Game 3 after Zack Greinke got shelled and pulled after 3 ¹/₃ innings of a 10-3 Astros loss. Greinke gave up six earned runs and five hits, three of which were homers.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone chuckled when asked if he remembered a game in which the opposing team didn’t have a lefty on the staff.

“I don’t know. It does look odd,’’ he said while holding the Astros’ lineup card in his office before the Yankees’ 7-0 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park in Game 1 of the ALCS. “But I think part of that is because they have so many guys on their staff that we view, and I am sure they view, as reverse split kind of guys who are even better at getting lefties out.’’

Because Boone didn’t start switch-hitter Aaron Hicks for Game 1 against Greinke, the only lefty-swinging Yankees in the lineup were Brett Gardner, who went from third to sixth in the order, and Didi Gregorius, who slid from eighth to ninth. Gregorius went 1-for-4 and scored a run, and Gardner was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The Astros have developed a reputation for being very good stealing signs, especially at home during the regular season. When they took swings against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow in Game 5 of the ALDS, it looked like they knew what was coming.

So, did the Yankees tighten up their signs to prevent the Astros from swiping them?

“I don’t know about more of an emphasis because it is a giant emphasis for us behind the scenes all the time,’’ Boone said. “I feel like we have done a really good job this year.’’

The Astros’ MLB-best 60-21 home record had a lot more to do with their talent than the noise level inside the venue that had its roof closed most of the season.

The noise coming from the seats, however, can’t be completely ignored. Though the Yankees hear plenty of loud voices spitting out foul words in places like Boston and Baltimore, the decibel level at Minute Maid Park can be intimidating.

Boone said, however, he didn’t believe the noise would bother his players. In fact, he predicted the Yankees would bask in it, and their Game 1 victory seemed to back up that point.

“I think our guys relish in this. Clearly the Astros have obviously shown that they have a real home-field advantage here, not only this year but even going back now a few years. And I think a lot of us are aware of how loud this place can be,’’ Boone said. “But I do feel like our guys will relish in that, embrace that, and hopefully find a way to have success through it all. But I don’t worry about that affecting our guys and our performance.’’

The Yankees went 0-3 at Minute Maid Park in April when Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Collin McHugh handled their lineup in front of crowds far short of the 41,168 capacity. The largest crowd in the three-game series was 31,009.

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