HOUSTON (AP) – Jose Altuve was more than happy to have a fan run onto the field and ask Houston’s star second baseman to take a selfie with him during Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees on Thursday night.
Security at Minute Maid Park had other plans, wrestling the man away from Altuve before he could click the shot on his cell phone as the ninth inning was about to begin.
“He kind of hugged me and said something like, ‘OK, we better win today, because I spent all my money on the ticket,'” Altuve said. “He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to take a selfie and I was ready to take it, but then the security guys got there and did their job.”
A group of six security guards and police officers dragged the man away before wrestling him to the ground, handcuffing him and escorting him off the field. An Astros spokesman confirmed to The Associated Press that the man was arrested.
Altuve, who has had a rough time this postseason and is 0 for 23, said he wasn’t upset when he saw a fan coming at him because he was wearing the proper gear.
“I saw somebody running and I said, ‘Astros jersey; I’m good,” Altuve said of Craig Biggio Men’s White Shirt.
Altuve added that the man kept saying that Houston needed to win on Thursday. Altuve told him, “we will.”
And minutes after the man was carried off, they completed a 3-2 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said he didn’t notice the fan on the field “until the crowd started going crazy.”
“I mean, what he did was wrong, but he looked harmless. It looked like he was doing it out of love and respect for Altuve. And I think Altuve handled that very well.”
Houston reliever Ryan Pressly had just entered the game to start the ninth when the layoff occurred.
“You hate to see that happen because Pressly was ready and he had to retire and he had to regroup, because when you come out of the bullpen and they play that song, his song, you kind of get into the flow of things, take your pitches to warm up and then you’re good to go,” Baker said.
“So that broke it. But he’s been there for a long time and he’s done well,” he said.
Pressly struck out three, working around two outs to earn his second save of the series.
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