The 2015 American League Wild Card Game was a

play-in game A play-in game ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

's (MLB) 2015 postseason played between the

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's (AL) two

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teams, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. It was held at

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on October 6, 2015. The Astros defeated the Yankees, 3–0. It was the Astros' first playoff win since Game 6 of the

2005 NLCS The 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the National League side in Major League Baseball’s 2005 postseason. It matched the Central Division champion and defending league champion St. Louis Cardinals - the post ...

and their first victory in a winner-take-all postseason game since Game 5 of the

2004 NLDS The 2004 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2004 National League (baseball), National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Monday, October 11, with the champions of the three NL divisions—alon ...

. With the Yankees eliminated, all four remaining teams in the 2015 ALDS were expansion teams.

Background

The Yankees clinched a wild card berth on October 1, while the Astros clinched a wild card berth on October 4, the final day of the regular season. The Yankees hosted the game, as they finished the regular season with a better

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. This was the Astros' first postseason appearance as an AL team, and first overall since

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, while the Yankees appeared in the postseason for the first time since

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. As such, this was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and the Yankees.

Game results

Line score

Houston's

Dallas Keuchel Dallas Keuchel (, ; born January 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, T ...

struck out seven batters and allowed only three hits in six innings of work, at one point retiring ten batters in a row before the Yankees had their one key threat come in the 6th with two base runners before a flyout to centerfield ended the threat. The Astros' bullpen then retired nine of ten Yankee batters for the victory. The Astros were paced offensively by leadoff home runs by

Colby Rasmus Colby Ryan Rasmus (born August 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. He ha ...

in the second inning and

Carlos Gómez Carlos Argelis Gómez Peña, nicknamed Go-Go, (; born December 4, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Ra ...

in the fourth, as New York starter

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. From ...

struggled to find command of his pitches. Tanaka lasted five innings, striking out three. Houston's

Jose Altuve Jose Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Having played for the Astros since 2011, he is the longest-tenured current member of the team, an ...

scored Jonathan Villar from second base in the seventh inning against Yankee reliever

Dellin Betances Dellin Betances (; born March 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 2011 to 2021. Betances was named an MLB All-Star from 2014 to 2 ...

, the final run of the game. Both teams had five runners left on base, but the Yankees never saw a runner touch third base.

References

External links

* {{New York Yankees American League Wild Card Game Baseball competitions in New York City Major League Baseball Wild Card Game Houston Astros postseason New York Yankees postseason American League Wild Card Game American League Wild Card Game 2010s in the Bronx