A bold decision by third base coach Gary Pettis helped the Astros take a 2-0 series lead over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and the game tied 1-1, Carols Correa hit a pitch from Aroldis Chapman to the gap in right field. Aaron Judge got to the ball and threw it to cutoff man Didi Gregorius, who fired home to catcher Gary Sanchez in plenty of time to get Jose Altuve. However, Sanchez was unable to cleanly handle the throw from Gregorius, allowing Altuve to score the winning run. Below is video of the final play of the game.
WALKOFF! What a finish in Game 2 of the ALCS! pic.twitter.com/yRDNHzYA3x
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 14, 2017
To everyone watching, it appeared Altuve would be out by a mile. That obviously didn’t end up being the case.
After the game, Astros manager A.J. Hinch talked about the decision by third base coach Gary Pettis to send Altuve and how they joke in the clubhouse about Pettis being the “most aggressive third base coach in the league.”
AJ Hinch says 3rd base coach Gary Pettis sent Jose Altuve who scored the winning run pic.twitter.com/3ETKbnxFsh
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 14, 2017
Had Sanchez tagged Altuve, and the Astros ultimately lost the game, Pettis likely would have been the subject of criticism for his daring decision. As Hinch said, the Astros like to put pressure on the opponents, and it was them doing that yet again that helped Houston win Saturday’s game.
