Need a late boost? Astros know they can call on Caratini

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Victor Caratini hasn’t been with the Astros all that long, but the veteran catcher has made enough late-inning magic that it feels like he’s been around forever.

On April 30, 2024, just 14 games into his Houston tenure, Caratini crushed a two-run, walk-off homer for an extra-inning win over the Guardians. He came through again two weeks later on May 14, ripping a walk-off single to beat the Athletics.

In Thursday’s 6-4 loss to the A’s in 10 innings at Sutter Health Park, Caratini unleashed perhaps his most improbable clutch hit yet. This time, though, it couldn’t lead the Astros to a win.

Caratini crushed the first pitch thrown by the A's flamethrowing closer Mason Miller for a game-tying three-run homer in the top of the eighth, only for A’s rookie Nick Kurtz to walk off the Astros AGAIN with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the 10th.

Caratini’s 380-foot smash off Miller sailed just over the glove of A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler and into the bullpen. It was a jolt of energy into an Astros offense that had been unable to break through all night -- until Houston's second-string catcher delivered a rude greeting to one of MLB’s best relievers.

"That’s why you play 27 outs,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s been around, so he knows how to step up in big moments.”

For a catcher who has never started more than 87 games in a single season, Caratini sure does have a knack for coming up big late in games. Thursday’s dinger was his 10th career go-ahead or game-tying HR in the seventh inning or later, including three in a single season for the Padres in 2021.

That’s 10 out of just 51 career home runs, by the way. If Caratini is going to go yard, there’s a better-than-average chance it’ll be in a late and close situation.

"I feel like he races to those moments,” Espada said.

But even at times when most hitters’ heartbeats might be spiking, Caratini knows what he has to do.

"Just remain as calm as possible,” he said through an interpreter after Thursday’s game. “Just waiting on God’s plan and making sure anything’s possible.”

Caratini wasn’t fazed even after he struck out in all three at-bats against A’s lefty starter Jacob Lopez, each on a different pitch: changeup, slider and four-seam fastball. He wasn’t pressing after his third strikeout, which came in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. He apparently wasn’t intimidated by Miller’s triple-digit fastball, either.

On the contrary -- he wanted to hit it.

"I was looking for something hard because he’s a guy that throws hard, so I just wanted to get something that I could get in the air,” Caratini said.

All three home runs Miller had allowed this season entering Thursday came against the right-hander’s four-seamer. All three were on the first pitch. Caratini maintained after the game he didn’t know previous opponents had successfully ambushed the A’s closer early in at-bats, but he proceeded to do the exact same thing.

The switch-hitting Caratini hit his game-tying shot as a left-handed batter after fanning all three times as a righty against Lopez. Entering Thursday, Caratini had only a .663 OPS in 153 plate appearances as a lefty this season, compared to a 1.345 OPS (in far fewer at-bats) as a righty.

The homer off Miller wasn’t even his first of the series in West Sacramento. Caratini crushed a three-run dinger off A’s reliever Sean Newcomb on Wednesday as part of the Astros’ huge sixth inning before repeating the feat the next night.

On deck in the top of the 10th with two runners aboard and only one out, Caratini seemed destined to have another chance to impact Thursday’s series finale at the plate before outfielder Jake Meyers bounced into an inning-ending 5-3 double play. In the bottom of the 10th, Kurtz smashed his second walk-off homer of the series, a 416-foot shot to dead center field off Houston closer Josh Hader.

The Astros had to settle for a four-game split despite outscoring the A’s 29-16 and outhitting them 51-29 in the series. But they would have headed to Anaheim for a three-game series beginning Friday with little offensive momentum if not for Caratini’s big home run -- a game-changer, if not a game-winner.

"I really liked the fight,” Espada said. “I thought we played really well this series.”