NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees, the most accomplished franchise in American sports, are on the verge of an unprecedented baseball feat. The Houston Astros, meanwhile, are trending toward sadly familiar territory.The Yankees moved to the edge of the World Series with a 5-0 victory over the Astros on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium. New York leads the series three games to two and will try to win the pennant in Game 6, scheduled for Friday night in Houston.The 41st trip to the World Series in team history would be different than any other for the Yankees -- or anyone else in baseball history, for that matter.The Yankees, who dropped the first two games of the ALCS after storming back from an 0-2 deficit to knock off the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-five AL Division Series, are trying to become the second team to reach the World Series by overcoming a pair of two-game deficits and the first to do it after twice trailing two games... [More]

RHP Brad Peacock, who was a candidate to start Game 4 before Houston opted for RHP Lance McCullers Jr., made his first appearance of the series in Houston's 5-0 loss in Game 5. He pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed a 407-foot homer to C Gary Sanchez while throwing 24 pitches.

LHP Dallas Keuchel allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in the worst of his nine career starts against the Yankees in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. Despite allowing those runs, he did get eight strikeouts. Keuchel is the first pitcher in baseball history to get at least seven strikeouts in his first five postseason starts. He also has 18 in the ALCS against the Yankees, the most in any series against the Yankees since Josh Beckett (19) in the 2003 World Series for the Florida Marlins.

2B Javier Baez broke out of an 0-for-20 skid in a big way Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Baez homered twice to help the Cubs prevail for a 3-2 win over the Dodgers. He became the fifth player in franchise history to hit two home runs in a playoff game.

RHP Justin Verlander will make his second start of the ALCS on Friday in Game 6. Verlander started Game 2 and threw 124 pitches in a five-hit complete game, setting a postseason career high with 13 strikeouts. Verlander is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his two playoff starts for Houston. In his career, Verlander is 10-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 postseason appearances (18 starts). In the LCS, he is 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts. In elimination games, Verlander is 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts.

RHP Jake Arrieta delivered a gutsy performance in what might have been his final game as a player for the Cubs. The soon-to-be free agent limited the Dodgers to one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. He walked five and struck out nine to help the Cubs stave off elimination.

RHP Wade Davis set a career high with a 48-pitch save Wednesday night in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Davis gave up a home run and walked three batters, but he held on for the six-out save in a 3-2 win. Davis will not be available to pitch in Game 5 on Thursday night, manager Joe Maddon said.

C Yasmani Grandal made his series debut Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. He went 0-for-1 and drew three walks. Grandal hit .247 with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs in 129 games during the regular season.

3B Justin Turner ripped a solo home run Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. The blast gave Turner 23 career postseason RBIs, which moved him past Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey for third place on the Dodgers' all-time list. Ron Cey is No. 2 with 24 RBIs, and Duke Snider is the all-time leader with 26 RBIs.

LHP Alex Wood (0-1) drew the loss against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. He allowed three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Although Wood threw 50 of 70 pitches for strikes, the home run ball proved to be his downfall. He gave up a towering blast to Willson Contreras and served up two home runs to Javier Baez.

DH Chase Headley had three hits, making him the first Yankee DH to get at least three hits in a postseason game since Hideki Matsui went 3-for-4 with six RBIs in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Earlier this week, manager Joe Girardi said Headley was having good at-bats. Headley is hitting .455 (5-for-11) in the AL Championship Series after beginning his postseason career 0-for-18.

RF Aaron Judge began Game 5 with a .189 average in the postseason but raised it to .200 by going 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series. Judge, C Gary Sanchez and 1B Greg Bird, who are 25 or younger, have hit three homers apiece in the postseason. Before this season, only three New York players 25 or younger hit three homers in a postseason: Lou Gehrig, who hit four homers in 1928; Charlie Keller, who hit three in 1939; and Mickey Mantle, who hit three in 1956. Of course, the difference is those players only had one playoff round as opposed to the current four-round format.

RHP Masahiro Tanaka allowed three hits, struck out eight and recorded nine ground-ball outs during seven scoreless innings in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against Houston on Wednesday. Tanaka owns a 0.90 ERA this postseason, which is the second lowest of any Yankee with at least 19 innings. RHP Waite Hoyt holds the record by pitching 27 scoreless innings in 1921 when the Yankees won their first pennant. Tanaka also owns a 22-inning scoreless streak at Yankee Stadium and is 7-1 with an 0.96 ERA in his last eight starts at home.

NEW YORK -- In the sixth inning Tuesday, the specter of Houston Astros co-aces Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander loomed over the remainder of the American League Championship Series.Then the seventh and eighth innings of Game 4 happened, and the New York Yankees' bullpen-heavy blueprint suddenly looked a little sturdier than the Astros' top-heavy rotation approach.The Yankees busted out for six runs over their final two at-bats against Lance McCullers Jr. and wave after wave of overwhelmed Astros relievers. New York rallied to beat Houston 6-4 and tie the series at two games apiece.Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Thanks to the Yankees' stunning comeback, it will not, as it appeared for a little while Tuesday, serve as a pennant-winning coronation for the Astros, who are scheduled to send Keuchel to the mound against Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.Keuchel has thrown 13 scoreless innings in two career playoff starts against New York, whom he blanked... [More]

C Gary Sanchez was hitless in 13 at-bats in the postseason and in his last 18 at-bats overall before getting a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday off RHP Ken Giles. Sanchez is 7-for-41 in his first postseason. Sanchez also started at DH for the first time, mostly because of his defensive struggles while catching RHP Sonny Gray. Sanchez is expected to be the starting catcher Wednesday in Game 5.

RHP Sonny Gray allowed two runs (one earned) and one hit in five innings of Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday. He became the sixth Yankee to allow one hit or less while pitching at least five innings. The others were Roger Clemens, David Cone, Orlando Hernandez, Don Larsen and Bill Bevens.

SS Didi Gregorius hit a triple in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the ALCS Tuesday and it was the 74th three-base hit in Yankees postseason history. The last one was by Eduardo Nunez in Game 4 of the 2012 ALCS at Detroit. The last postseason triple by a Yankees left-handed hitter was by Curtis Granderson in Game 3 of the 2011 ALDS at Detroit.

2B Jose Altuve went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks in Game 4 of the ALCS Tuesday, extending his postseason on-base streak to eight games. In 14 postseason games, Altuve has reached base in 11 games.

RF Aaron Judge started New York's comeback in Game 4 of the ALCS with a homer off RHP Lance McCullers in the seventh inning Tuesday. The home run was measured at 427 and 111.6 mph off the bat. Judge then hit the game-tying double in the eighth off RHP Ken Giles. When he doubled off Giles, it marked the fourth time he drove in more than one run in a playoff game. He joined Bernie Williams as the second Yankee to get a multi-RBI game in at least four of his first 10 playoff games. Judge also homered for the second straight game, making him the seventh Yankee age 25 or younger to do so. The others are Lou Gehrig (three straight games), Greg Bird, Derek Jeter, Gil McDougald and Charlie Keller.

DH Carlos Beltran hit a double in the second inning of Tuesday's game and when the switch-hitter got the hit, it ended an 0-for-29 skid by left-handed hitters for the Astros in this series. He also recorded his 66th postseason hit in his 61st game. At 40 years, 176 days, he is the fourth-oldest player to hit a double in an LCS game. Only Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield along with Manny Mota were older.