Replay used to check count in Yankees-Astros

HOUSTON -- The umpiring crew initiated a video review challenge in the ninth inning of Thursday's 4-2 Yankees victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park, checking the count of an at-bat.

With assistance from the Replay Operations Center at Major League Baseball Advanced Media's headquarters in New York, the umpires confirmed that the count was three balls and one strike to Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte, as the scoreboard had indicated.

The challenge was initiated after Astros catcher Carlos Corporan asked home-plate umpire Brian Knight about the count.

"I asked the umpire, 'What's the count?'" Corporan said. "And he said, 'I don't know, I've got 2-1.' I said, 'I've got 2-1 as well.' I kind of forgot about the pitchout that we made. [Solarte] was like, 'No, it's 3-1,' and [the umpire] said, 'Of course you're going to think it's 3-1.' They wanted to make sure, so they took a little time."

The challenge, the first for both the Yankees and Astros, took two minutes and 20 seconds. Crew chief Gerry Davis and veteran umpire Phil Cuzzi both used the headsets near the third-base dugout for the replay.

"I give the crew credit," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "They came together, and because there was some indecision, I guess they decided to go ahead and make the count right. We had 3-1 the entire time."

"They did they right thing. They checked," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "If you happen to be wrong and you don't check, you're going to look foolish."

When play resumed, Solarte walked on the next pitch.