Jason Heyward delivers on promise to Astros GM
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Lorenzo Delgado, Contributor
- September 25, 2024
Jason Heyward pushes Astros to seventh AL West crown in eight years
HOUSTON – Before Monday’s series opener against the Mariners, Astros general manager Dana Brown had a conversation with Jason Heyward near the batting cage at Minute Maid Park. Brown told the veteran outfielder that All-Star Yordan Alvarez’s knee injury was an opportunity for him to shine.
“Look, this is a good time for you to step up,” Brown told Heyward. “Show that leadership. Show ‘em what you can do.’”
“I got you,” Heyward responded.
The 15-year veteran answered the call and helped the Astros win their seventh America League West title in eight years. He hit a two-run home run Tuesday night to come from behind to beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 before a crowd of 38,195.
In the last two games, Heyward has been active offensively and defensively. Heyward launched a home run to score the Astros’ lone run Monday night.
Spectacular catch
On Tuesday he made an incredible leaping grab to rob Cal Raleigh of a base hit in the top of the fifth inning. Then in the bottom of the inning, he crushed his two-run home run.
Victor Caratini led off with a single to right. Jeremy Peña then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Caratini to second. Heyward, who struck out against Logan Gilbert in his first at-bat, smoked a two-run go-ahead home run to give the Astros a 4-3 lead.
“I felt like that one was gonna go,” Heyward said. “I didn’t know how far it was gonna go. I think I hit off the second deck or whatever, but I felt like that one was gonna go. He (Gilbert) supplies a lot of power. He’s got a really good arm. It’s nice to not miss a pitch in the zone, and put a good swing on it.”
Astros ace Framber Valdez held the Mariners to three runs over 5 2/3 innings for the victory. Bryan Abreu added 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ryan Pressly pitched two-thirds of an innings of relief, and closer Josh Hader sealed the victory with a four-out save.
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You just felt at that moment when Heyward made that defensive play, something good was going to happen for the Astros. Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander were talking about Heyward’s web gem in the dugout during the bottom of the fifth.
A couple of batters later, Heyward gave the guys more to talk about.
“We looked at each other and was like ‘Wow, that ball was crushed,'” said Bregman, who hit a solo home run in the first.
Jason Heyward capitalizes on second chance
Heyward was designated for assignment by the Dodgers in late August. During that time, the Astros had no production from their outfielders. Kyle Tucker was still on the injured list recovering from a right shin fracture.
Chas McCormick was hitting .098 in August, and optioned to Class AAA. Jake Meyers was also struggling offensively. The Astros quickly acquired him and added more depth to a depleted outfield.
“We knew Heyward had power,” Brown said. “We knew he had leadership, and we knew he could play defense. And he was left handed, and there were going to be a lot of at-bats versus righties. That was a good guy to get.
“After the deadline you don’t get those kinds of guys. Once we had a chance to get him, we felt like because our outfield was struggling, we weren’t getting as much production as we would like. So he really stepped in and did a good job.”
Heyward is batting .310 with nine hits, four home runs, nine RBIs, and a 1.099 OPS in his last 11 games. Even though his season numbers aren’t strong, Heyward still carries a lot of weight on the field and in the clubhouse.
“This guy you know a lot of respect for him,” Mauricio Dubon said of Heyward. “He’s been doing this forever. He’s been on winning teams. Obviously he knows what he’s doing, and we all try to follow his lead.
“Like I said before, five Gold Gloves for a reason. And I’m trying to follow his footsteps for a little bit.”
Lorenzo Delgado
Contributor
Lorenzo Delgado graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and is currently attending the University of Houston to earn his master’s degree. Lorenzo was formerly a contributing baseball writer for Call to the Pen on the Fansided Network. He is the host of an Astros baseball podcast called Full Seam Ahead, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever podcasts are found.
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