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Having Kemp hit 9th is such a good place for him considering who we have hitting after him. Hope he plays well and stays on the team for the rest of the season.
Sets up a force out at home. Also, Springer and Altuve are the two best candidates to drive in the run with less than 2 outs. Almost every manager in the game would have done the exact same thing.
As others have said, I hope this is the turning point for Correa this season. He needed this confidence boost, and it was the exact kind of experienced major league hitting was doing last year as a rookie. He came in looking like a seasoned veteran and this season, he just hasn't looked the same. But hopefully that's the turning point.
The Astros relievers now have a 3.10 xFIP, which is tied for the best in the majors with the Yankees. To put that into perspective, Jake Arrieta has a 3.01 xFIP and Max Scherzer has a 3.04 xFIP.
Pitching them carefully not giving them much to hit and if Springer and or Tuves walks so be it but to intentionally walk both forced the pitcher to give Correa something to hit.