After Javier, Baker turned, in order, to right-handed relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly. And after Pressly got Phillies receiver JT Realmuto down for the final, the Astros celebrated on the field. Baker clapped his hands and hugged his players one by one, this time on the winning side in playoff history.
“It’s a privilege to have a manager who has that experience and to have him here again with new players, it feels really good,” Abreu said afterwards in Spanish. When told that Baker had lost the previous time, Abreu added: “I didn’t know that. But thank God this time he succeeded.
As Baker returned to the visitors’ club after speaking to reporters in the press conference room, he was asked if he remembered what kept Halladay’s departure from being a perfect playoff game like Larsen’s.
Baker couldn’t. It’s been a while, after all.
(Hint: It was a walk by Reds right fielder Jay Bruce in the fifth inning.)
