Astros shut out Yankees to move 1 win away from World Series berth

Cristian Javier and Houston's bullpen combined on a three-hitter, Chas McCormick followed a dropped flyball with an early two-run homer and the Astros beat Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees 5-0 Saturday night to take a 3-0 AL Championship Series lead.

The 106-win Astros, trying for their second straight AL pennant, improved to 6-0 this post-season. On the verge of reaching the World Series for the fourth time in six years, manager Dusty Baker's team aims to close out the series on Sunday night when Lance McCullers Jr. starts against Nestor Cortes.

Only once in major league history has a team overcome a 3-0 post-season series deficit, Boston against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

Christian Vazquez added a two-run single and Trey Mancini a sacrifice fly as the Astros chased Cole in the sixth inning and opened a five-run lead.

THIS train keeps rolling. <a href="https://t.co/xOYlI0FMT4">pic.twitter.com/xOYlI0FMT4</a>

Javier pitched seven innings during the Astros' combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium on June 25 and was nearly as sharp this time. He didn't allow a ball out of the infield until Giancarlo Stanton's one-out double in the fourth — the only hit Javier allowed.

Making his first start since Oct. 1, the 25-year-old right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking three.

Hector Neris, Ryan Stanek, Hunter Brown, Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu finished with scoreless relief. The Yankees got a pair of two-out hits in the ninth.

New York, which last reached the World Series in 2009, is on the precipice of elimination against Houston for the fourth time in eight seasons. After sprinting to a 61-23 record in early July, the Yankees spiraled to a 38-40 mark the rest of the way and have sputtered in the