Texas starter Aaron Sele stood in the middle of his team’s clubhouse and summed up his performance in one sentence.

“I never found the groove all night,” he said.

Sele lasted just five innings, taking the loss in an 8-0 setback to the Yankees in Game 1 of their ALDS. He walked five and allowed three earned runs on six hits.

Sele wasn’t the only Texas goat on this night. But it all comes down to starting pitching, especially in the playoffs.

“We have to play better than that,” said Sele. “We have to pitch better. We have to hit better. We have to play better defense to beat a good team.”