University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols in the Postseason
October 08, 2015 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Prior to the conclusion of wild-card play, Tennessee Baseball had four former players in the MLB postseason, tied for second most in the SEC. VFL Chase Headley and the New York Yankees lost 3-0 to fellow VFL Matt Duffy and the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card game on Tuesday, October 6. With the win, Duffy and the Astros advanced to the ALDS versus VFL Luke Hochevar and the Kansas City Royals. Toronto Blue Jay and Vol for Life R.A. Dickey will play in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers.
In September, Duffy, a 20th-round draft pick by the Astros in 2011, was named the 2015 Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player, finishing the 2015 Minor League season with a .294 batting average and 104 RBIs. 10 days after being named MVP, he was called up to join the Houston Astros. Duffy played in eight regular season games for Houston and collected eight hits and three RBIs in eight at-bats, boasting a .375 batting average. On Monday, October 5, the Astros' manager A.J. Hinch made the announcement that Duffy would be the final man on the 25-man postseason roster.
2015 MLB POST SEASON
R. A. Dickey - SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Regular Season: 11-11, 3.91 ERA, 33 G, 214.1 IP, 195 H, 97 R, 93 ER, 61 BB, 126 K
Since September 13, Dickey started three regular season games, totaling 18.0 innings pitched. He earned his eleventh and final win of the regular season on September 25 versus Tampa Bay. During the outing, Dickey allowed two runs on four hits and fanned two batters. He ended the regular season with a 3.91 ERA.
The Toronto Blue Jays finished the regular season with the second best record in the American League and will face the Rangers in the eastern ALDS. Game 1 starts on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Chase Headley - 3B, New York Yankees
Postseason: .000, 1 G, 0 R, 0 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Regular Season: .259, 156 G, 74 R, 150 H, 29 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 62 RBI
Headley appeared in 18 regular season games since September 14. He went on an eight-game hitting streak from September 23-30, totaling nine hits. In the third game of a four game series versus the Chicago White Sox, Headley hit his 29 double, drove in an RBI and crossed the plate once. He ended the regular season with 150 hits, 62 RBI and a .259 batting average through 156 games.
The Yankees lost the AL Wild Card Game to the Astros at Yankee Stadium on October 6. Headley had two at bats, but did not register a hit during the game.
Luke Hochevar - P, Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals Regular Season: 1-1, 3.73 ERA, 49 G, 1 SV, 50.2 IP, 49 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 16 BB, 49 K
Omaha Storm Chasers: 0-1, 8.68 ERA, 8 G, 9.1 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 8 BB, 10 K
Hochevar made eight relief appearances for the Kansas City Royals since his September 12 outing versus Baltimore. He tossed 8.1 innings and struck out seven batters total (September 18-October 4). On September 18, Hochevar tossed a hitless inning and fanned two batters.
The Kansas City Royals host the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 8 in game one of the western ALDS.
Matt Duffy - 3B, Houston Astros
Houston Astros Regular Season: .375, 8 G, 0 R, 3 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Fresno Grizzlies: .294, 127 G, 94 R, 144 H, 29 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 104 RBI
Since being called up to the Astros on September 13, Duffy appeared in eight regular season games. His first major league hit was an RBI-double versus the Oakland Raiders on September 19. Duffy collected two more hits over the course of his eight regular season at-bats (September 23 and October 2) and ended the season with a batting average of .375. Duffy was selected as the final man on the Astros’ postseason roster on October 5. He did not play in the AL Wild Card game versus the New York Yankees on Tuesday, October 6.
The Houston Astros will play the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 8 in game one of the western ALDS.
