David Coleman of The Crawfish Boxes notes in Sunday’s game recap that the Yankees are the superior team when it comes to plate patience.
This was the longest game of the season for the Astros. The time of 3 hours, 38 minutes barely nudged out the May 27 game against Milwaukee, though that Brewers game went extra innings. Part of the reason for that was the eight walks drawn by New York. Part of it was also the 4.5 pitches per batter faced that the Yankees batter had in this game.
The Astros only saw 3.5 pitches per batter faced. On the season, New York sees 3.92 pitches per plate appearance, which ties them for fourth in the league. Houston sees 3.71 pitches per plate appearance, which puts them second-to-last in the majors. That doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but it’s a nice illustration of why the Yankees lead the league in walks and on-base percentage and the Astros are last in each category.