One mistake by Harris allows Rendon to pounce

HOUSTON -- Will Harris has become such a valuable member of the Astros' bullpen -- arguably the most valuable this postseason -- that it's a given that when he comes into a game, there's a lot riding on the situation.

Harris had been nearly perfect all month, and he’s one of the main reasons why Houston is even in position to play Game 7 of the World Series, which will commence Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park. The flip side, of course, is if a pitcher is only being called on in crucial situations, and he doesn't come through, one bad outing can sting. A lot.

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Oct. 22	WSH 5, HOU 4	Watch
Gm 2	Oct. 23	WSH 12, HOU 3	Watch
Gm 3	Oct. 25	HOU 4, WSH 1	Watch
Gm 4	Oct. 26	HOU 8, WSH 1	Watch
Gm 5	Oct. 27	HOU 7, WSH 1	Watch
Gm 6	Oct. 29	WSH 7, HOU 2	Watch
Gm 7	Oct. 30	WSH 6, HOU 2	Watch

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Anthony Rendon's two-run homer off Harris in the seventh inning wasn't the only reason the Astros lost to the Nationals in Game 6, but it played a critical role in Washington’s convincing 7-2 victory that pushed the World Series to a winner-take-all finale.

Houston was down by only one run when Rendon connected with Harris' second pitch, a 91.1 mph cutter that, unlike the first one he threw, caught too much of the heart of the plate.

"He's been swinging on me," Harris said of Rendon. "I expected him to be swinging, so I was trying to execute a down and away cutter. One out of the two were executed, and the one he decided to swing at wasn't. That was my plan, and I didn't quite execute two in a row."

The first cutter looked like it caught the outside corner at the bottom edge of the strike zone, but when Harris didn't get the call, he shifted his sightline a little to the right. Turns out, he went a little too far.

"I adjusted them too far over, threw the ball down the middle and he hit it out," Harris said. “That's just baseball. You throw it down the middle, guys usually get extra-base hits. Especially the heart of the order on a World Series team."

It was an unlikely homer, to be sure. Rendon hit the ball with a 91.7 mph exit velocity and a 43-degree launch angle, good for an .010 expected batting average. Prior to Tuesday, there were 176 batted balls since 2015 hit with a 92 mph/43 degree combo. Just one had gone for a home run, and that was an inside-the-park job. Rendon’s, however, did go out.

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The homer punctuated an already odd set of circumstances. Harris was called in just after the dust had settled following an interference call on Trea Turner.

After the call, umpires went to the review headsets, because as MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre explained to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal, both managers were told before the start of the World Series that they could ask the umps to do so if they were concerned about any rule being misinterpreted, whether it was specifically for a replay review or not.

Harris insisted the long wait between running in from the bullpen and actually throwing his first pitch didn't rattle him, nor did it affect how he approached the Nats’ hitters. He pointed to Adam Eaton's harmless pop out to third base prior to Rendon's at-bat as proof.

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Rendon's homer, rather, was simply a matter of poor execution, Harris said.

"That was a little bit out of the ordinary, for sure," Harris said. "But me, I'm just kind of in my own world when I'm pitching anyway. I don't really care or think about things outside. It did seem to drag on an unusual amount of time.”

Manager AJ Hinch brushed off the idea that the delay may have affected Harris.

"I'm not going to sit up here and blame any of that," Hinch said.

Rendon said he didn't see the play unfold. Cameras showed the third baseman doing little more than leaning calmly on the dugout railing during the umpire review, barely moving. Rendon seemed to go from zero to 60 when he stepped in to face Harris.

"I didn't actually see the play happen," Rendon said. "I was sitting in the dugout getting ready to go on deck. And then once they showed the replay on the big screen, then I was like, 'Oh. I was a little bit more surprised than I guess I had anticipated.'"

With everything on the line and one more game remaining in the season, Harris will be used in Game 7 in the same manner he has all month -- when the Astros are inching toward a win. The veteran reliever understands his high-caliber performance throughout 2019 creates a brighter spotlight that follows him this time of year, in good times and bad.

"It's part of it," Harris said. "Only facing top-five hitters in the lineup and usually with runners on base. Tonight was no different. I just didn't execute one pitch."