Astros in Orbit

The GIF made its way around Twitter late Saturday, a short clip of Astros catcher Brian McCann squatting stoically, shifting his eyes around to make sure nobody was watching before quickly and subtly nodding to Lance McCullers on the mound.

No signal was needed, because McCullers had thrown a curveball the previous 13 pitches already. One more curveball, and if that hadn't done the trick, then another.

It did the trick, though, as did the next 14; Yankees slugger Aaron Judge struck out to end the eighth inning, and Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez struck out leading off the ninth. It didn't matter that they knew what was coming. They didn't have an answer.

It was a theme on this night, as the Yankees had few answers, offensively or defensively, for the Astros, who advanced to the World Series with a 4-0 win in Saturday's Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees could muster just three hits on the evening, striking out 11 times against McCullers and starter Charlie Morton.

Yankees starter CC Sabathia, who had quieted the Astros' bats in Game 3, had less success Saturday, allowing just one run but working into and out of trouble for most of his night. The Astros put eight men on base during his 3 1/3 innings of work, and Evan Gattis' solo homer in the fourth inning proved to be the difference.

It could have been more, sooner if not for Judge, who along with setting a record for strikeouts in a single postseason, robbed Yuli Gurriel of a would-be home run in the second inning to keep it a scoreless game. When McCullers fanned Judge in the eighth, it was Judge's 27th strikeout in 13 games this postseason.

Morton started the game and exorcised some demons after finishing on the wrong side of Sabathia's Game 3 dominance. In his first appearance since allowing seven runs over 3 2/3 innings, Morton shoved, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out five in his five innings of work.

Jose Altuve added to the lead with an opposite-field, solo homer in the fifth inning, and the Astros would tack on two more with a Brian McCann two-run double later in the frame.

Then it was time for McCullers, who cut through the Yankees lineup with ease for four innings. When Greg Bird hit a harmless fly ball to center field with two outs in the ninth, McCullers raised his arms in celebration and was greeted at the mound by McCann.

So it will be the Dodgers and Astros in the World Series, which begins Tuesday in Los Angeles. One team will break a decades-long championship drought, with the Astros having never won the trophy since their inception in 1962, and the Dodgers not having won since 1988.

We'll see you there.

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Seager (Back) Hopeful For Game 1

Corey Seager won't take no for an answer.

“We certainly optimistic,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday of Seager's availability for Game 1 of the World Series. “Corey really doesn’t want to be denied.”

Seager was left off the Dodgers' roster for their National League Championship Series against the Cubs, but the shortstop has been progressing in his rehabilitation from a lower back sprain suffered October 9 and could be ready in time for the start of next week's series. Seager injured the back sliding into second base in the series-clinching game of the Dodgers' Division Series against the Diamondbacks.

He was given an epidural the following day, but his outlook was such that the Dodgers made the tough decision to leave the All-Star off their 25-man roster for the ensuing series. Charlie Culberson was added in his place and filled in at shortstop in Seager's absence.

In recent days, the 23-year-old has been hitting off a tee and running on the infield. The next, and possibly final, step in his recovery will be facing live hitting in a simulated game scenario.

“To simulate that game speed, against an actual live pitcher, will be telling,” Roberts said.

The Series starts Tuesday in Los Angeles, so Seager has a few more days to test the ailing back. It's hard to imagine, though, that Seager won't be out there if at all possible.

“We’re just trying to get him as healthy as we can, and with the training staff, we’ll make that decision,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, if he can swing the bat and isn’t compromised physically, that makes sense.”

Red Sox, Cora Reportedly Reach Agreement

The Red Sox will have to wait a few more days to make it official, but indications Saturday were that they've identified their next manager.

Astros bench coach Alex Cora, who remains with the team as they head on to face the Dodgers in the World Series, has agreed to become the next manager of the Sox, according to FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The deal is a three-year agreement, per Rosenthal.

Cora, who has been mentioned for managerial openings in recent years, was the hot name on this year's market. All five teams with openings -- the Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Mets and even the Nationals, who entered the game late -- were linked to Cora, and he interviewed with the Sox and Mets this past week.

The Tigers got their guy in Ron Gardenhire, and the Nationals joined the search after letting Dusty Baker go last week. Some have speculated the Yankees may also be in need of a new manager in the coming days after Saturday night's Game 7 loss to the Astros. Stay tuned.

Quick Hits: Justin Verlander, who dominated the Yankees in his two ALCS starts, was named the series MVP after Saturday's game. Verlander allowed one run in 16 innings of work and struck out 22 in that span ... outside of the baseball being played, some of the biggest news from Saturday came in the way of pitching coach changes. It came out that the Giants will not bring back pitching coach Dave Righetti in 2018, and Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio was let go as well. Righetti has been in the Giants' organization for the last 17 seasons. He'll be re-assigned to a role in the front office ... Players of even remote interest electing free agency in recent days: Kevin Quackenbush, Rymer Liriano, Drew Hutchison, Rob Brantly, Ruben Tejada, Christian Bergman, Conor Gillaspie, Pedro Beato and Tyler Moore, among many others.