Yankees' bats stymied by Astros' ace Dallas Keuchel in AL wild card game

There were plenty of reasons to question the New York Yankees' offense heading into the wild card game against the Houston Astros.

With Mark Teixeira sidelined, the club limped to the finish at the plate. Alex Rodriguez, who carried the club in the first half, was starting to look like he was actually 40 years old, and Brian McCann hit like a catcher who desperately needed a break. On top of that, manager Joe Girardi made a questionable decision hours before the game, benching $153 million man Jacoby Ellsbury.

Even if all those guys were healthy and firing at full steam, it probably wouldn't have mattered. That's because Astros' ace Dallas Keuchel was at the top of his game Tuesday night during the team's 3-0 victory over New York.

[Elsewhere: Astros blank Yankees 3-0 in AL wild-card game.]

There were plenty of reasons to doubt whether Keuchel would be effective as he took the mound on three days' rest for the first time in his major-league career. He silenced those doubters almost immediately.

Keuchel worked around a one-out walk in the first, and a two-out single in the second, and then turned into his usual, dominant self. The next nine hitters he faced were sent down without reaching base. He notched three strikeouts and two ground ball outs during this phase of the contest.

The only time the Yankees really threatened Keuchel was during the sixth inning. Didi Gregorius led off the frame with a single, and Carlos Beltran added a single of his own with two outs. With men on first and second, the Yankees' best hitter, Alex Rodriguez, stepped to the plate against Keuchel. The stage was set for one of the most dramatic at-bats of the postseason.

It ended quickly and with a whimper. A-Rod flew out to center on the first pitch he saw from Keuchel, ending the inning and the Yankees' only real scoring opportunity.

Manager A.J. Hinch could have opted to go to the bullpen with Rodriguez at the plate, but he put his trust in Keuchel, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle.

Keuchel felt pretty good about his own ability too.

[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]

After throwing 87 pitches, Keuchel was removed from the contest. His final line was excellent. Over six scoreless innings, Keuchel allowed just three hits. He walked one and struck out seven during the contest.

In three starts against the Yankees this season, Keuchel held New York scoreless over 22 innings. He struck out 26 and issued just three walks in those appearances. Not surprisingly, he won all three starts.

The Yankees were well-aware of Keuchel's dominance against them coming into the contest, leading Girardi to say "we didn’t solve Keuchel the whole year" following the game. 

While the Astros bullpen was just as dominant, giving up just one walk over three innings, Keuchel's start will remain the big story. His growth as a major-league pitcher is the perfect parallel for the Astros' turnaround over the past couple seasons.

Coming into 2014, Keuchel had compiled a 5.20 ERA over 239 career innings in the majors. He was the perfect representation of a franchise that had lost 218 games during his first two seasons. Had Keuchel played on a better team, it's very likely he wouldn't have had an opportunity to start in 2014.

Then, things started to change. Keuchel developed a killer two-seamer, and started throwing it with better control. He, like the Astros, showed a tremendous amount of growth. There were flashes of brilliance now. Something to build upon. The future looked much brighter.

Despite that, both entered 2015 with some questions. Keuchel turned in a fantastic breakout in 2014, but could he repeat that success again? Many believed the Astros would eventually be good, but it wouldn't happen this soon, right?

[Related: We ranked all 25 possible World Series matchups.]

Wrong. Keuchel became a bonafide ace, and a strong contender for the American League Cy Young award, shocking even his most optimistic supporters. The Astros did the same. They were better than anyone expected earlier than anyone expected, clinching their first playoff berth since 2005 on the final day of the season.

After all he, and the team, had been through, Keuchel was going to give it his all in a one-game playoff, according to the Houston Chronicle.

In that sense, it's fitting that Keuchel played such a big role in the team's wild-card victory. Keuchel is the Astros. He nearly bottomed out before blossoming into one of the best pitchers in the game much faster than anyone could predict.

Behind his arm, the Astros will move to the ALDS to take on the Kansas City Royals. They won't be the favorite, but that will just give them, and Keuchel, another opportunity to quiet the doubters.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik