LOOK: Astros catcher forced to pitch in blowout, breaks out his knuckleball
Astros backup catcher Erik Kratz took the mound in a blowout loss Tuesday night. He broke out his knuckleball.
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
Tuesday night, the Astros lost for the seventh time in their last eight games (SEA 11, HOU 1), dropping their record to 6-15 on the season. That's the worst record in the AL, which is hard to believe after the Twins started 0-9. A lot is going wrong in Houston.
Astros skipper A.J. Hinch spared his bullpen an inning Tuesday night by sending backup catcher Erik Kratz to the mound in the blowout loss. Kratz was the first position player to pitch in a game this season. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in one inning. Here are his three outs:
At one point during his 27-pitch outing, Kratz broke out a knuckleball because hey, why not? Most players mess around with knuckleballs while playing catch before games, and Kratz might never get a chance to pitch again. This was the time to try it.
Here's the slow-motion replay of the knuckler Kratz threw Mariners shortstop Ketel Marte:
Kratz threw it for a strike too. Hitters will tell you facing a position player on the mound is no fun because it's a no-win situation. If you get a hit, it's because you're supposed to get hit off a position player. And if you make an out, well that's just embarrassing.
Earlier in his outing Kratz threw what will likely go down as the wildest pitch of the season. This one was juuuust a bit outside:
The Astros have been really struggling early this season. But, for one inning, Kratz provided some nice comic relief on the mound last night. Both television broadcasts showed players getting a good laugh out of the knuckler. Now the Astros just have to make sure they don't need a position player to pitch again anytime soon.
