The Houston Astros and New York Yankees were the two top-scoring teams in baseball during the regular season, but the first two games of their American League Championship Series were both low-scoring affairs. Offense is on the wish list as the scene shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Monday night (8 p.m. ET, FS1).

Houston averaged 5.53 runs per game this season, leading baseball, with the Yankees second at 5.30 runs per contest. But each game at Minute Maid Park ended with 2-1 scores, both in the Astros’ favor.

The Yankees are hitting .159/.209/.254 as a team in the ALCS, while the Astros are batting .190/.242/.276 as a collective unit. Houston has 11 hits as a team, with Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa combining for eight of them in 15 at-bats. Correa doubled home Altuve with the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 2.

“Those two, they provide so much for us and literally can carry a team offensively any given game, any given series, any given stretch of the season,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said on Sunday. “The fact that they’ve stepped up, obviously Jose is having a historic postseason so far. And Carlos is one of the most clutch guys we have on our team as far as coming through in situations like [Game 2].”

Meanwhile, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are just 1-for-14 combined in the ALCS and are 6-for-57 (.105) since the start of the Division Series, after hitting 85 home runs between them during the regular season.

“If a guy goes 2-for-20 during the regular season you don’t make much of it. It’s just part of the ups and downs of being a hitter and being productive and how careful they pitch to you,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I feel good about them. We’ve counted on them all year. We believe in them, and I think they’re going to come out of it.”

CC Sabathia starts on the mound for the Yankees in Game 3, facing off against Astros right-hander Charlie Morton, who is not a part owner of Morton’s The Steakhouse, by the way.

ALCS Game 3 time, TV and streaming info

• Teams: Astros (101-61) at Yankees (91-71)
• Series: Houston leads, 2-0
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• First pitch: 8:08 p.m.
• Location: Yankee Stadium, New York
• TV: FS1
• Streaming: Fox Sports Go
• Announcers: Joe Buck, John Smoltz, Tom Verducci, Ken Rosenthal

Yankees vs. Astros news & notes

Altuve scored the winning run from first base on Correa’s double in the ninth inning of Game 2. Mike Petriello of MLB.com broke it down:

The entire play took just 10.6 seconds from the time Aroldis Chapman unleashed his 99.3-mph fastball to the time that Altuve touched the plate. In barely more than 10 seconds — basically the time it will take you to read this sentence — multiple decisions were made on both sides of the ball that directly impacted the outcome of the game and, by extension, the series.

Judge is 1-for-7 in the ALCS, and 4-for-31 (.129) with 19 strikeouts this postseason. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN on how Houston is pitching to Judge:

Following the Indians' lead, the Astros have had success against Judge by attacking him with lots of breaking stuff low and out of the strike zone. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Judge is seeing 56 percent breaking balls in the playoffs — the highest percentage of any player to play multiple postseason games and up significantly from the 33 percent breaking balls he saw during the regular season.

Judge is hitting .150 (3-for-20) with 14 strikeouts in at-bats ending with a breaking ball this postseason. He has also missed 28 of the 42 breaking balls he has swung at in October. That 67 percent rate is the highest miss percentage of any player this postseason.

"Pitchers are making really good pitches on him, and they know they have to be careful and they're being careful," Girardi said. "That's why you're seeing some walks in there, too.

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