The Houston Astros have Chas McCormick to thank for a jaw-dropping catch in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, allowing them to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series. The Astros are now up in the series 3-2.
After Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly retired one batter, J.T. Realmuto came up to bat. With a 1-1 count, the Phillies catcher hit what looked like a dinger into right-center field.
But outfielder McCormick made a fabulous catch at the wall to get the out.
Chas McCormick!!!!! OH MY WORD!!!! pic.twitter.com/qMGbgxSGTV
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 4, 2022
SPEECHLESS. ? pic.twitter.com/esTM9lzxEe
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 4, 2022
Even the Astros’ official Twitter proudly claimed McCormick’s catch “PLAY OF THE YEAR.”
PLAY OF THE YEAR. pic.twitter.com/4wrg2fvugW
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 4, 2022
Even Astros’ first baseman Trey Mancini said he thought the hit was a home run at first, ESPN reported.
“Incredible. I thought off the bat it was a homer. If not, off the wall,” Mancini said.
McCormick later told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart how it felt to lie there after the catch.
“Best feeling ever, just laying there and looking at the Philly fans and being home. Speechless,” McCormick said.
The Astros’ outfielder actually grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and was actually a Phillies fan growing up, MLB noted.
If McCormick had not made the catch, it could have put the Astros in a tight spot with Realmuto getting in scoring position and Bryce Harper coming up after him.
But with a Game 5 win, many are predicting that the Astros will take the whole series.
Game 5 wins are always a big mile marker in the World Series, since about 65 percent of teams (31 out of 47) who win Game 5 go on to win the whole thing, The Houston Chronicle reported.
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After starting the series out in Philadelphia, the Astros will also have the added advantage of Game 6 (and 7 if necessary) being at Minute Maid Park in Houston, CBS Sports noted.
While Philadelphia fans are mourning the loss of Game 5, the Phillies had anything but a stunning game on Thursday, leaving 12 runners on base and going just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
As Phillies’ right fielder Nick Castellanos said after the game, “We were close, but we could talk about would have, could have, should have,” MLB.com reported.
“We put together good at-bats, we gave ourselves a lot of opportunities, but we didn’t capitalize on them tonight,” Castellanos added. “So now we’ve just got our work cut out for us when we go to Houston.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.