Young fan, glove become pieces of history
From his front-row seat in right field, 12-year-old Carson Riley came away with five balls at Game 2 of the Astros-Yankees game in the American League Championship Series on Saturday.
It was the fifth ball that might be talked about for a long time.
When the Astros’ Carlos Correa ripped a line drive to right in the fourth inning, Carson rose to his feet and stuck out his glove just as Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge raced toward him. The ball glanced off Carson’s glove and directly to his parents, Mike and Amanda.
Although Judge walked away from the home run without complaining, Yankees manager Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to ask for a review of the play that gave the Astros a 1-0 lead. He wanted fan interference to be called on Carson for reaching his glove over the wall.
Carson knew exactly what was going on during the review, and he didn’t feel great about it.
“I was nervous,” Carson said. “I thought I might have reached over.”
The fans sitting around him in Section 152 felt more confident.
“They were all telling me good job,” Carson said.
After review, the umpires upheld the homerun call.
Before the inning, when Judge was done warming up, he tossed a ball directly to Carson, who caught that one.
For Judge’s part, he didn’t seem to have any hard feelings toward his new friend.
“He just looked at me and nodded,” Carson said about Judge’s reaction after the homer.
Carson and his family drove in from Liberty Hill to attend the game and got there early enough to watch batting practice where Carson came away with three balls.
He said he had never before caught a ball at a professional game. Now, he owns a piece of Astros history.
Carson had no idea who Jeffrey Maier was, but his name may be etched in baseball history alongside Maier’s. In Game 1 of the 1996 Yankees-Orioles ALCS at Yankee Stadium, Maier, 12, deflected a ball hit by Derek Jeter that was ruled a home run. That homer tied the game, and the Yankees went on to win the game and the World Series.
Gonzalez plays after son’s birth
Hours after he saved a run for the Astros in their ALCS Game 1 win, Marwin Gonzalez joined his wife, Noel, at a local hospital in time for the birth of their third child.
The couple welcomed a baby boy, Blake, at 12:52 a.m. Saturday, a few hours after the Astros wrapped up their 2-1 win. Gonzalez was back in the lineup for Game 2 just hours later.
“I think it’s amazing,” Astros catcher Brian McCann said. “For him to have the game he had last night, get a chance to have his baby, and be back in the lineup is awesome.”
Gonzalez cut down Greg Bird at the plate in the fifth with a throw from left field in the fifth inning of Game 1. It was Gonzalez’s second outfield assist in as many postseason games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he was the first left fielder to record an outfield assist in consecutive playoff games since Boston’s Jim Rice in the 1986 World Series.
Cora, Red Sox to meet today
Astros bench coach Alex Cora is scheduled to interview for the Boston Red Sox managerial opening Sunday during the ALCS day off in New York, an industry source confirmed to the Chronicle.
The Boston Globe first reported the news Saturday.
Cora is viewed as a candidate for any of the four current managerial openings. According to Newsday, Cora also will interview for the New York Mets’ opening this week.
Gattis set to draw start in Game 3
Evan Gattis is set to make his first appearance in the Astros’ lineup in this ALCS for Monday’s Game 3 against lefthander CC Sabathia, perhaps at catcher with Charlie Morton on the mound.
If Gattis catches Morton, Yuli Gurriel would be in the lineup at designated hitter with Marwin Gonzalez at first base and Cameron Maybin in left field.
Carlos Beltran got the start at DH for Games 1 and 2 of the series against Yankees righthanders
Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino.
Game 1 ratings top last year’s
Friday’s Yankees-Astros Game 1 telecast on FS1 registered a 4.6 Nielsen rating with a 9 share in the 56 major markets, up 44 percent from 3.2/6 for the 2016 opener between the Blue Jays and Indians on TBS.
Houston was the highest-rated market with a 13.8 rating and 24 share, representing 340,465 households. New York had a 13.4/23 rating/share, representing an average audience of 948,016 households.