At this point, the last-place Astros really have nothing to lose by pulling some unconventional moves in the middle of a game.
On Monday night, Houston found themselves in a deep hole to the Rangers, down by 13 in the third inning. The Astros told infielder Jake Elmore he would probably make his pitching debut to save their bullpen, but he wasn’t planning on making his catching debut in the same night.
During the fourth inning, Elmore, who normally calls second base his home, took over the duties behind the plate. According to MLB.com, Elmore had told the Astros a couple of weeks ago that he could catch if games ever got out of hand.
After catching for four innings, Elmore made his way to the mound and enjoyed a 1-2-3 inning, throwing eight of 11 pitches for strikes. The strange feat marked only the 14th time in major league history that a player has appeared as a catcher and pitcher in the same game.
Not a bad outing for a guy who wasn’t even penciled into the starting lineup.
Check out Elmore’s perfect eighth inning below.
