HOUSTON (AP) — Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will miss the rest of the World Series after injuring his right knee in Game 5.
Houston replaced him on its active roster Saturday with rookie catcher Korey Lee.
“He wasn’t crying, but he had tears in his eyes,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Gurriel. “You could tell how badly that he wanted to play. We just couldn’t do it and had to replace him.”
Gurriel collided with Philadelphia first baseman Rhys Hoskins during a rundown between third base and home plate on Chas McCormick’s seven-inning grounder during Thursday night’s 3-2 win, taking a knee to his head.
Trey Mancini hit for Gurriel in the eighth, and Baker said after the game that Gurriel’s knee was sore.
“He tried everything,” Baker said. “He came in yesterday, got treatment. Came in this morning early, got treatment. Didn’t respond well enough to play. He tried to run. And from a guy who had knee injuries, the hardest thing to do is to stop and then to round the bases or have lateral movement.”
Mancini, 0 for 18 in the postseason and 0 for 6 in the World Series, started at first base and hit seventh in Game 6 on Saturday night. Christian Vázquez was the designated hitter and batted sixth.
Houston held a 3-2 World Series lead.
The 38-year-old Gurriel hit .347 with two homers and four RBIs in the postseason, including .316 during the World Series.
“Yuli’s been one of our best hitters in the postseason, so, obviously, it stinks not having him,” McCormick said.
Lee, 24, was a first-round draft pick in 2019 and made his major league debut on July 1. He hit .160 (4 for 25) with four RBIs in 12 games with the Astros from July 1-31 after Jason Castro hurt his left knee. Lee hit .238 with 25 homers and 76 RBIs in 104 games at Triple-A Sugar Land.
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