URQUIDY ANSWERS THE CALL

Rookie righthander pressed into service following Pressly’s injury comes through in the middle innings

In a four-plus hour game with a couple huge momentum changes in the ninth inning, it could be easy to forget about the job a rookie pitcher did for the Astros in the middle innings that helped them get to another World Series.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow didn’t forget.

“Jose Urquidy was huge,” Luhnow said on the field minutes after the Astros beat the Yankees 6-4 to win the American League Championship Series. “It’s hard to be a rookie and come into this environment with the stage as bright as it is, but he did the job.”

Three months after making his big league debut, Urquidy recorded eight outs, the most of any Astros pitcher in a bullpen game in which seven pitchers were used.

Included in those outs was a huge strikeout of Aaron Judge that ended a fourth inning in which the Yankees had the tying run on base. Urquidy finished off Judge with a changeup that Luhnow called “maybe the best pitch of the entire night.”

Urquidy gave up one run and three hits in his 22⁄3 innings, but — most importantly — he took the ball with a 3-1 lead and left a few innings later with the Astros still clinging to a one-run advantage.

“Without him being able to give us those two-plus innings we don’t make it to (Roberto) Osuna in the back end,” Luhnow said.

Urquidy started the season as the Opening Day starter in Class AA Corpus Christi, which is a lot further than just the 208 miles between Minute Maid Park and Whataburger Field.

“All the credit goes to Urquidy,”

Luhnow said. “We gave him a shot, but he really ran with it.”

Urquidy showed the initial shakiness of a man with only one playoff appearance under his belt and just nine total big league outings.

The 24-year-old righthander from Mexico was called on in the fourth inning after Brad Peacock made it through 12⁄3 innings, Josh James got three outs and Ryan Pressly got an out before re-injuring his knee.

That left things to Urquidy with the Astros gripping a 3-1 advantage heading to the fourth inning.

In his ALCS debut, Urquidy coolly struck out Gary Sanchez, but then left a first-pitch fastball a bit too much over the plate and Gio

Urshala deposited it into the Astros bullpen. Brett Gardner followed with a hard-hit single to left.

Things calmed slightly when Urquidy ran into a little bit of luck with D.J. LeMahieu hitting a ball hard, but George Springer was able to corral in center field for a much-needed second out.

Three straight hard-hit balls didn’t faze the rookie, who went from little-known farmhand to rising prospect when he experienced a velocity spike after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016. He didn’t need that velocity spike to finish off Judge.

With no one warming in the bullpen, Urquidy headed to the mound for the fifth inning and was back in the dugout quickly, getting Gleyber Torres to ground out and striking out both Aaron Hicks and Edwin Encarnacion.

Having already gotten more outs than any other Astros pitcher in Game 6, Urquidy went out for more in the sixth. He struck out Didi Gregorius, then gave up a fivepitch walk to Sanchez that drew a mound visit from pitching coach Brent Strom. Urshela followed with a soft single, and then Urquidy got a little help to make sure his night ended successfully.

Gardner took a first-pitch changeup and laced it to right field. A hard-charging Reddick dove face first and was able to glove the ball for a spectacular out. Hinch had seen enough that point and gave the ball to Will Harris. Harris managed to get the final out to close the book on Urquidy.