By Jennifer Piacenti The Astros are home favorites against the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS as they try to take a 2-0 series lead. The American League Championship Series continues Thursday night with Game 2 as Framber Valdez and the Astros host Luis Severino and the Yankees at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Houston leads the series 1-0 after a dominant performance by Justin Verlander, who struck out 11 Yankees and surrendered only a single home run to Harrison Bader on the way to a 4-2 victory for Houston. The Astros received homers from Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Pena and scored …