Troubled Yanks stay confident versus Astros

NEW YORK – Trailing again 2-0 in the postseason, these young New York Yankees remain even keeled going into Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

“I don’t know if it’s maturity or just being dumb,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said Sunday.

At 36, the old man of the pitching staff, Sabathia will pitch Monday surrounded by a starting lineup that includes Baby Bombers Aaron Judge (25), Gary Sanchez (24) and Greg Bird (24).

Houston, two wins from its first World Series appearance since 2005, starts 33-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton, who grew up in Connecticut rooting for the Yankees. He remembered getting Joe Girardi’s autograph at spring training and his family spotting Derek Jeter at a Bahama Breeze restaurant, an especially exhilarating experience for his sister, Jennie.

“She walked up to him and said, ‘Hey, can I have a picture with you?’ And he said, ‘Only if you smile,’” Morton recalled.