“The strikeouts, for us, are going to happen,” Yankees Manager Aaron Boone conceded. “It’s a matter of us taking good at-bats.”

To save their season, the Yankees must do that in Game 5 on Friday against Justin Verlander. If they survive, Gerrit Cole would loom in Game 6 or 7 in Houston. Verlander and Cole have combined for 678 strikeouts since opening day; no duo is better at keeping balls out of play.

“Putting the ball in play is enormously important in the postseason because the run-scoring environment is different,” Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow said. “It’s suppressed based on the pitching and the schedule and how it works out with the off days. Being able to manufacture runs, put the ball in play and hope something goes your way is huge.”

Boone famously called his hitters “savages in the box” in his tirade at an umpire in July. He meant that they relentlessly control the strike zone and hunt for pitches to drive, and he was not wrong. The Yankees scored the most runs in the majors this season and clubbed 306 homers, one shy of Minnesota’s major league record.

Home runs are always important, of course. But in this age of extreme power pitching, the postseason formula that works best is to hit for power and make contact consistently. It worked for the last two champions: the 2017 Astros had the majors’ fewest strikeouts and best slugging percentage, and the 2018 Boston Red Sox had the fifth-fewest strikeouts and the best slugging percentage.