Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel was removed from the World Series roster on Saturday due to a knee injury he suffered against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 Thursday night.
Catcher Korey Lee was added to the roster after Major League Baseball approved the transaction.
Gurriel injured his right knee during a rundown in the seventh inning of Game 5. He landed awkwardly as Philadelphia’s Rhys Hoskins applied the tag.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said Gurriel was distraught over the decision to remove him from the roster.
“He wasn’t crying, but he had tears in his eyes,” Baker told reporters prior to Saturday’s game. “You could tell how badly he wanted to play. He just couldn’t do it and we had to replace him.”
Gurriel, 38, is batting .316 (6-for-19) with one RBI in the series.
Trey Mancini will start at first base in Game 6 as the host Astros can clinch the best-of-seven series. Mancini is 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in the series.
Lee, 24, will give Houston a third catcher behind Martin Maldonado and Christian Vazquez. He batted. 160 (4-for-25) with four RBIs in 12 regular-season games.
Vazquez is batting sixth as the designated hitter on Saturday.
Game 7, if necessary, is Sunday night in Houston.
–Field Level Media
