Keuchel relishes New York boos: 'It makes you feel good'

Houston Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel didn't mind being serenaded by a chorus of boos Monday when he was introduced at Yankee Stadium ahead of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

He rather liked it, in fact.

"But to have some boos getting introduced, that was a nice feel," Keuchel told reporters, including Newsday's Steven Marcus, on Tuesday. "You get boos against the 'Evil Empire' at the home turf, it makes you feel good just because you're doing your job correctly. Obviously, my job is to win for the Astros."

Keuchel, the AL Cy Young award winner in 2015, did his job with aplomb in Game 1 of the ALCS. The 29-year-old didn't allow a run over seven scoreless innings at Minute Maid Park, notching 10 strikeouts to propel the Astros to a series-opening 2-1 victory over the Yankees. Through two postseason starts, Keuchel boasts a 0.71 ERA with a 4.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

His success - and his highly distinctive beard - have earned him some recognition among the baseball-loving denizens of New York, too, he said, so the boos aren't necessarily restricted only to Yankee Stadium.

"And that's also one of the joys is when you're doing your job correctly as a visiting player for the visiting team against the Yankees, people always are going to have choice words for you," Keuchel said. "So I fully expect that. It's not just me, though. There's a lot of other guys on the team that have done well for one reason or another."