Catch of the day
Spectacular grab helps slow a seventh inning that had Yankees on the verge of a comeback
George Springer might be slumping at plate, but he saved the day in center.
The Astros had crumbled in this situation before. Leading. Buzzing. Inching toward victory.
Then clinging. Trembling. Melting down all over again.
But when the Yankees verged on a rally that would eliminate the Astros in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday, center fielder George Springer snared the biggest threat to his team’s survival.
Sprinting. Backpedalling. Leaping for the catch of his life. Springer kept the comeback at bay and let the Astros exhale, preserving a lead in the top of the seventh inning that extended into a 7-1 win.
The Astros were three days removed from the collapse that had started in the same inning of Game 4: Aaron Judge homered off of Lance McCullers, six unanswered runs scored for the Yankees that evened the American League Championship Series.
The stakes were higher in Game 6. The Yankees led the series 3-2. A fourth consecutive loss would end the Astros’ season and signify one of the lowest points in team history.
Breaking a losing trend
A franchise does not get used to losing 10 of 12 elimination games. They hope to get better.
“If we don’t win, we go home,” Springer said after the game.
The Astros led 3-0 in the seventh inning. Then the skin-crawling sensation of fatalism crept in.
The Astros were riding Justin Verlander through six dominant innings. Then he walked Greg Bird and hit Starlin Castro with a pitch. The reigns tightened.
After the first out, Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier sent a ball to deep center field. It soared like a grenade that would blow up Verlander’s impeccable stretch of 14 1⁄3 scoreless innings this postseason.
Before contact, Springer said he gauged the way the ball came out of Verlander’s hand to determine the direction of his jump. Then he took off when Frazier made contact.
“As soon as it gets hit, I break,” Springer said. “I ran as fast as I could and far as I could.”
The Yankees reacted like Frazier would drive in Bird and maybe Castro on an extra-base hit. Catcher Gary Sanchez and shortstop Didi Greg started to climb over the dugout railing for a celebration.
Springer said he could hear the warning track crunch beneath his feet as he ran down the fly ball. He braced for a collision.
“I know our dimensions out there,” Springer said. “I know how much time I have until I hit the wall.”
He leapt to secure the catch. He pulled up in front of the wall enough to soften his landing.
Narrowly avoiding disaster
Had contact occurred a little lower on the barrel of his bat, Frazier would have squared up the pitch. He got under the ball just enough to keep it in front of the wall.
Chase Headley still posed a danger with two men on base. The Yankees entered Game 6 batting .333 with two outs, and by the seventh, Headley had strung together six hits in his last four games.
Verlander finished undoing the jam with a groundout.
He had finished the previous innings with uninterrupted strides to the dugout, but he paused to celebrate his final inning of a scoreless outing.
While his teammates jogged in from the field, Verlander shouted, pumped his arms and waited near first base to give Springer a highfive.
“He was hyped,” Springer said. “He said something I can’t repeat, and then, ‘Yeah!’”
Many among the sellout crowd at Minute Maid Park likely responded the same way. Chest thumping, towel whirling and cheering punctuated a game with few moments of panic after Springer’s catch.
The atmosphere seemed like that of another planet, far away from the Bronx, where the Yankees had been the team to mount clutch hits and crush the opposition for three consecutive games.
Aside from a hitless Josh Reddick, Springer has been the least effective batter for the Astros in the ALCS. He has two hits in 22 at-bats.
He compensated with his season-saving catch, which Springer, hesitant to boast, agreed was the biggest play of his career.
“You play the game to have moments like that.”