Carlos Correa had a good idea of what Devin Williams would throw before he even stepped up to bat. The sequence began with Williams missing the strike zone with a fastball, which allowed the automatic runner, Jose Altuve, to advance to third base.
Correa explained, “Once he pulled that fastball, I figured he’d go back to the changeup.” This insight proved crucial as Houston managed to score three runs off Williams, sealing a 5-3 victory in extra innings.
The Astros’ strategy was clear: Williams’s next three pitches were changeups. The first of those was called a strike, and Correa slightly missed the next one, bringing the count to 1-2.
On the crucial last pitch, it wasn’t a bad changeup, but Correa connected, sending the ball into center field for a single that allowed Altuve to score.
Then, Taylor Trammell followed up with a two-run homer on yet another changeup from Williams, shifting the game even further in Houston’s favor. Correa’s decision-making was straightforward; he had faced right-handed pitchers multiple times and was aware of recent inconsistencies from Williams that impacted his approach.
“If he’s going to give up a hit, it’ll be on his best pitch, which is the changeup,” Correa noted. He felt confident that Williams wouldn’t mess around with pitches he was hesitant to use.
With that in mind, Correa was ready when Williams threw in the lower zone. “He threw me a really good pitch at 1-1,” he said.
Williams didn’t seem to regret the pitch to Correa, saying he felt it was a solid hit. “I was okay with that pitch,” he admitted.
However, Williams had a different takeaway when it came to Trammell’s homer. “That pitch to Trammell was terrible,” he remarked, clearly frustrated.
With this latest performance, the Astros joined the growing list of teams capitalizing on Williams and the Yankees this season.
