HOUSTON — The task at hand was simple in theory, difficult in practice:
Get one. Grab one. Steal one. Figure out a way to win one of these first two games of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park. The Yankees had made a clear, if unspoken, concession in the final days of the regular season. The Astros, on the way to 107 victories, probably weren’t going to be caught.
Fair enough. That meant if the teams met in the ALCS, the Astros would get the extra home game. They would have home-field advantage. Two years ago, that was the only reason it was the Astros advancing to the World Series against the Dodgers instead of the Yankees: they won all four home games.