Laying it all on the line
Reddick, Brantley make superb defensive plays to help secure series-clinching win
Long after the Yankees traded him in an infamously lopsided deal that became a running joke on “Seinfeld,” Jay Buhner said something that crystallized playoff baseball.
“Every throw, every pitch, every at-bat ... every everything means everything,” the longtime major league outfielder and Clear Creek High School graduate said when his Mariners made the playoffs for the first time in 1995.
Buhner’s words definitely rang true in the Astros’ 6-4 victory over the Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park that sent them to the World Series for the second time in three seasons.
Jose Altuve’s walkoff two-run homer in the ninth inning won the game for the Astros, but a pair of defensive gems earlier in the game saved their bacon and kept them in line for the win.
A night that dripped with tension from the start as the Astros tried to piece together a bullpen game and close out the series was highlighted by two superb catches from outfielders Josh Reddick and Michael Brantley. Those grabs in the late innings, arguably the two biggest defensive plays of the series, quelled Yankees rallies.
The first came in the top of the sixth inning. Trailing 3-2, the Yankees put runners on first and second with one out against Astros rookie righthander Jose Urquidy, in his third inning of relief.
Veteran Brett Gardner, the No. 9 hitter, then hit a sinking line drive to right field. If it dropped in, the Astros were staring at the bases loaded with one out and the top of the order coming up.
Instead, Reddick broke in and, lunging forward, snared the ball before he went face-first into grass for a sublime catch that sent the ballpark into bedlam.
“It wasn’t really hit all that hard,” he said. “It seemed like Gardner hit it off the end of the bat.
Coming into it, I had a good shot. Just left my feet at the right time and fortunately made the catch. It kind of stung a little bit. We got the out — that’s all that matters. That’s what it’s about; you save a run and you do whatever it takes. If you have to run through that wall, you do it.”
Will Harris then relieved Urquidy and got DJ LeMahieu to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.
One inning later, Brantley upstaged Reddick with what arguably might be the greatest defensive play in Astros history.
With one out and a runner on first, Harris faced cleanup hitter Aaron Hicks, the hero of the Yankees’ Game 5 win with his first-inning three-run homer.
This time, he hit a fly ball to left field that looked like it would drop between Brantley and third baseman Alex Bregman.
But Brantley raced in, dove to the turf and caught the ball before it could hit the ground. He then popped up and fired a strike to first base that doubled up Aaron Judge in plenty of time for an inning-ending double play.
“I had to do anything I could to get there,” Brantley said. “I barely got there, but I made the catch and made sure I got up and made a good throw to first.”
Brantley said he’d never made a defensive play that compared.
“No, not in this atmosphere and not in this (type of ) game,” he said. “These are special games that you always remember. To have my family here to celebrate and to have these great teammates to celebrate with means the world to me.”
There may be more spectacular catches in Astros history from a degree of difficulty standpoint but considering the situation and stakes, it’s safe to say there hasn’t been a bigger defensive play in franchise history.
A close runner-up may be the electrifying double play turned by Eric Bruntlett and Adam Everett to win Game 4 of the 2005 NL Championship Series against the Cardinals with the tying run at third. That helped the Astros take a 3-1 series lead en route to making their first World Series appearance.
If those Reddick and Brantley catches weren’t enough, the Astros added another dash of strong defense to end the eighth inning, with second baseman Jose Altuve and shortstop Carlos Correa combining to turn a slick double play to halt another Yankees threat.