When these clubs met in 2017, the Astros won in a seven-game thriller. Two years later, Houston shut out the Yankees in Jose Altuve’s power-play home run in 6. For the Yankees, the losses stung. So did the revelations, in the months after the 2019 playoffs ended, about the Astros’ illegal plate-stealing device and its possible role in delivering a title to Houston — and taking one away from the Bronx. The Yankees still haven’t forgotten what the commissioner’s office found in 2017. Even if the pitching staff for both clubs has been nearly flipped since then, that knowledge will serve as a backdrop when the two teams meet. The Yankees are sick of hearing about the World Series drought. Dusty Baker is still one championship short of his Hall of Fame managerial resume. As always, when these two teams meet, the stakes are high. GO DEEPERY Yankees return to the familiar stage, trying to upset the Astros to reach the World Series in contrast with
