Correa does not stop short, races home

Astros slugger scores from second on wild pitch in fifth inning

July 16th, 2016

SEATTLE -- It was the kind of play you would expect speedsters or to make, but ? With an all-out hustle effort, he made it look easy.
Correa, the Astros' dynamic shortstop, turned an improbable feat in the fifth inning of Friday's 7-3 win over the Mariners, scoring from second base on a wild pitch by to give the Astros a 6-0 lead. Correa had just delivered a two-run double when Paxton bounced a pitch off catcher that rolled toward the Astros dugout.

"I realized it was far enough away from me to make it to home plate, so I gave it a try and it worked out pretty well," Correa said. "It was exciting. I haven't gotten to do that at all in my professional career, and that was the first. It was special, obviously."
Correa, who has good but not great speed, never hesitated. He motored around third and slid home without even a throw. This wasn't like the 1995 American League Championship Series, when Kenny Lofton scored from second base on a passed ball in Seattle when the catcher assumed he wasn't coming home. This was about hustle.
"I just watched him and he felt like he had a chance," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "The ball was pretty far over and I think it hit off some flesh. I know Iannetta didn't keep it right next to him, but heads-up play for us. You want to be safe there and there was no throw so I ended up being a good play."
Correa's double came after the Mariners intentionally walked Altuve to get to Correa, who leads the team with 57 RBIs.
"Altuve was joking to me about it and I was like, 'You think I have more RBIs now because they're walking you to pitch to me?'" he said. "I like it. I enjoy it. He's the best hitter in the game, and I know I will get that situation a lot. I've got to be mentally prepared to hit in that situation."
George Springer also scored on one of three wild pitches thrown by Paxton in the inning.

"Really big inning for us," Hinch said. "We didn't maximize our opportunities early, we hit into a lot of double plays, but, man, it was nice to get a big inning there. Turned out we needed it."