Correa meets his home-run buddy
When Carlos Correa turned the corner in a tunnel inside Minute Maid Park on Friday, he needed no introduction to the 12-year-old in front of him wearing a rainbow Astros jersey.
“What’s up, Carson? Nice to finally meet you,” Correa said to Carson Riley before Game 3 of the World Series. “Thanks for that homer. I owe you for that one.”
Carson was back at Minute Maid Park two weeks after leaping into Astros folklore when he nearly interfered with Correa’s home run in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. This time, Carson got the royal treatment, hanging out with Correa and other players three hours before the first pitch.
On Oct. 14, the young fan from Liberty Hill stuck out his glove on Correa’s line drive as Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge rushed toward him. Judge backed off and the ball glanced off Carson’s glove, rolled into his mom Amanda’s lap before settling at his dad Mike’s feet.
The Rileys were at that game as the family’s first getaway after 15-year-old Cade Riley, Carson’s brother, died in an all-terrain vehicle accident a month earlier. The family believes Carson’s time in the spotlight has been a sign from their fallen son that it’s time for the family to move on and enjoy life without him.
After hearing that story, Academy Sports + Outdoors arranged for the Rileys to return to Houston for a World Series game. The sporting goods store also reached out to Correa to see if he would be interested in meeting Carson, who Correa called “my favorite fan” after Game 2 of the ALCS.
“He really helped me out big time on that homer,” Correa said. “The kid probably was going through tough times. To be able to bring a little joy and happiness means everything to me. That’s what we’re here for.”
As Correa signed the homerun ball that Carson brought with him — “I thought you were going to give it to me?” Correa joked with him — Carson’s parents took in the moment.
“For one, I can’t believe we’re at the World Series, period,” Mike Riley said. “It’s really unbelievable that this all has happened.”
Hinch gives Gattis DH nod over Beltran
A byproduct of Evan Gattis starting as designated hitter in Game 3 on Friday is that Carlos Beltran probably won’t be in the Astros’ lineup during the World Series.
A switch hitter who bats better from the left side, Beltran has for weeks started at DH only against righthanders. Yu Darvish, the Dodgers’ Game 3 starter, was the only righthander the Astros will face in the three World Series games at Minute Maid Park..
So, the 40-year-old Beltran, one of the best postseason players ever, is relegated to a bench role, a product of his natural decline — he posted only a .666 OPS in the regular season — and Gattis’ recent productivity.
Entering Game 3, Gattis was 6-for-21 with a home run, two doubles and three walks in the playoffs. Beltran was 3-for-20 with two doubles and one walk. Beltran last started over Gattis in Game 5 of the ALCS.
“It’s not an indictment of him as much it’s just we’re trying to go with the guys that we think give us the best chance initially,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “It doesn’t mean he won’t have an important at-bat.
“Gattis really for much of the postseason and even the end of the year warranted more at-bats. Certainly in this ballpark he’s a huge threat.”
Tal’s Hill no friend to Dodgers manager
During his 10-season major league career, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played 15 games at Minute Maid Park.
His offensive numbers there weren’t eye-popping (.220 average, two RBIs in 50 at-bats), but he left his mark in an Aug. 28, 2003, game with a stellar defensive play on Tal’s Hill, the center-field slope removed after the Astros’ 2016 season.
With two outs in the eighth and a runner on, Dodgers closer Eric Gagne was summoned to face Lance Berkman with the Dodgers up 5-3. Berkman drilled a pitch more than 430 feet to the top of the hill, with Roberts scaling the incline and reaching over the wall to rob the Astros star of a tying two-run homer.
Roberts said the catch is “up there” among his career highlights.
“Tal’s Hill, that was a tough one,” he said. “Berkman got me the night before — ball over my head, my legs gave way on Tal’s Hill, he ended up having a triple. And the next night, we got him.”
Odds and ends
Manager A.J. Hinch made the obvious official in declaring Dallas Keuchel as the Astros’ Game 5 starter and Justin Verlander as the starter for a potential Game 6. … Hinch said pregame Friday he hadn’t yet decided who’ll catch Charlie Morton in Game 4, but Brian McCann is the likely choice. If McCann does, Evan Gattis would again DH.