George Springer's catch robbed Todd Frazier of extra bases and possibly saved the Astros' season
Nothing was going Todd Frazier's way during the Astros' 7-1 victory in Game 6 of the ALCS presented by Camping World on Saturday. Justin Verlander's 12-6 curve was so befuddling, he couldn't help but swing late on it.
And then, in the top of the seventh inning, with the Yankees trailing 3-0, a rally was starting. The team put runners on first and second before
It was high, it was deep. The Yankees bench was all excited and then ...
Frazier was bummed.
Justifiably so, as most of the time that is a game-tying shot:
Based on exit velo and launch angle, the ball that Frazier hit is a HR 72% of the time, per @statcast. pic.twitter.com/RHTUySUkwc
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) October 21, 2017
But Verlander? He was excited.
That's a "Steve Holt!" response.
"I thought homer," Verlander said of Frazier's deep fly after the game. "Especially the way the balls have been flying this postseason, really all year.'
"I threw where I wanted," he added. "I was trying to go up and away there. I haven't seen the replays, but I know it was elevated. And, man, watching the outfield, all you can do as a pitcher is watch the outfielder track it and track it and track it ... and he was able to reel it in and keep it inside the yard. So that was obviously one of the big turning moments in the game."
The catch helped Verlander throw seven scoreless innings -- running his ALCS line to 16 IP, with just one earned run and 21 strikeouts -- as the Astros World Series hopes remained alive for one more day.
Tune in for the must-win Game 7 on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.