Isaac Mattson reacts after getting the final out of the eighth inning against the Cubs Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Isaac Mattson wasn't in an ideal situation when MiguelAmaya came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning here today.
Mattson allowed two hits to AlexBregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong, the latter of which came with two outs on an 0-1 changeup that appeared well below the strike zone. It was a critical situation in a one-run ball game and Amaya battled his way into a full count, fouling off five tough pitches, including four fastballs, Mattson's bread and butter.
So, with the 10th pitch of the at-bat coming up, Mattson had to come up with a good offering. He and HenryDavis didn't elect to go back to a heater he threw on five consecutive pitches. He threw this instead:
That's a slider, the same one Amaya swung through to begin the at-bat, that Mattson turned to knowing that the man at the plate was in a situation where he was going to be aggressive. Mattson admitted he didn't execute that pitch the way he wanted to, but it helped him escape danger and resulted in an emotional reaction as he made his way back to the dugout with a one-run lead still intact.
"You never want to be in that spot," Mattson said. "I felt like I made some good pitches earlier in the inning, but baseball happens. Bregman did a great job, PCA, same thing. Getting to two outs and having Amaya at the plate, I know he's a tough at-bat, he's a great player, and once we got to pitch seven or eight, I was like, 'OK, let's focus in, let's keep this rolling.' Credit to Hank. He pulled the trigger at the right time when we needed to go to the slider. Just happy to help my team win."
THE ASYLUM
On Mattson's masterful escape
GETTY
Isaac Mattson reacts after getting the final out of the eighth inning against the Cubs Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Isaac Mattson wasn't in an ideal situation when Miguel Amaya came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning here today.
Mattson allowed two hits to Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong, the latter of which came with two outs on an 0-1 changeup that appeared well below the strike zone. It was a critical situation in a one-run ball game and Amaya battled his way into a full count, fouling off five tough pitches, including four fastballs, Mattson's bread and butter.
So, with the 10th pitch of the at-bat coming up, Mattson had to come up with a good offering. He and Henry Davis didn't elect to go back to a heater he threw on five consecutive pitches. He threw this instead:
That's a slider, the same one Amaya swung through to begin the at-bat, that Mattson turned to knowing that the man at the plate was in a situation where he was going to be aggressive. Mattson admitted he didn't execute that pitch the way he wanted to, but it helped him escape danger and resulted in an emotional reaction as he made his way back to the dugout with a one-run lead still intact.
"You never want to be in that spot," Mattson said. "I felt like I made some good pitches earlier in the inning, but baseball happens. Bregman did a great job, PCA, same thing. Getting to two outs and having Amaya at the plate, I know he's a tough at-bat, he's a great player, and once we got to pitch seven or eight, I was like, 'OK, let's focus in, let's keep this rolling.' Credit to Hank. He pulled the trigger at the right time when we needed to go to the slider. Just happy to help my team win."
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