SPORTS E3 USA TODAY z MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 z 3C
Denny Hamlin earned his fifth vic-
tory of the season Sunday in the Holly-
wood Casino 400 in a drama-filled fin-
ish at Kansas Speedway that deter-
mined which drivers would advance to
the Round of 8 of the Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Hamlin led 153 of 277 laps, but two
late cautions threatened to put his vic-
tory in peril. Bubba Wallace brought out
a caution with five laps to go to send the
race to overtime, then a multicar crash
in overtime brought out another yellow
flag just before Hamlin took the white
flag which would have ended the race
under caution.
Hamlin executed strong restarts each
time, keeping his grip on the lead before
finally taking the checkered flag in dou-
ble overtime.
“It was all about the push that I got on
those last couple of restarts. That was
the most important thing for us – to get
a good restart. Once we got out front, we
could hold it wide open.
“Our car was built for downforce, so it
worked out that it was just fast enough
to win.”
Hamlin edged Chase Elliott, who en-
tered the race below the standings cut-
line and needed every point he could
amass to earn a berth to the third round.
With his runner-up finish, he was able
to knock 2012 champion Brad Keselow-
ski out of the playoffs by three points.
“I pushed as hard as I knew how and
didn’t quite do good enough on the last
restart and that was it,” a dejected Kese-
lowski said. “We clawed as hard as we
could and there were times it looked like
we were going to be fine and times it
didn’t. In the end it didn’t work out.”
Hendrick Motorsports teammates
Alex Bowman and William Byron were
also eliminated from championship
contention along with Stewart-HaasRacing’s Clint Bowyer, who was racing
at his hometown track.
Hamlin joins Dover International
Speedway winner Kyle Larson and Tal-
ladega Superspeedway winner RyanBlaney in the semifinals, along with
Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Har-
vick, reigning series champion Joey Lo-
gano and Elliott, who each advanced on
points.
“I’m just excited we get to fight an-
other race,” a relieved Elliott said. “With
our backs up against the wall here and
battling for a win, that’s what you have
to do when you’re in the position that we
were in.”
zOvertime drama: Keselowski
made contact with Daniel Suarez and
collected pole winner Daniel Hemric in a
crash just before Hamlin took the white
flag in overtime. As cars tried to avoid
the crash, Logano was pushed into the
grass, sustaining damage to his No. 22
Ford, though quick repairs still allowed
him to finish 17th.
zStage 2:Hamlin passed Joe Gibbs
Racing teammate on lap 125 and main-
tained the lead to take the second seg-
ment. Six consecutive playoff drivers
followed, with last week’s winner Bla-
ney coming home second, Truex third,
Byron fourth and Elliott fifth. Harvick,
Logano, Paul Menard, Bowyer and Kyle
Busch rounded out the top 10.
zStage 1:A caution with five laps re-
maining brought a mix of strategies for
the end of the segment with the leaders
opting to come down pit road for tires,
while a number of drivers stayed on the
track to gain positions. The gamble paid
off for Logano, one of those drivers who
opted not to pit, as he stormed to the
lead on a restart with two laps remain-
ing. Logano, who was sitting just above
the cutline entering the race, held off El-
liott to win the stage. They were fol-
lowed by Suarez, Truex, Kyle Busch, Ke-
selowsi, Blaney, Hamlin, Erik Jones and
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Hamlin 1st; Keselowski knocked out
Ellen J. Horrow
USA TODAY
Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas
Speedway.ADAM HAGY/USA TODAY SPORTSJEJU ISLAND, South Korea – Justin
Thomas earned his 11th PGA Tour vic-
tory and second in South Korea in three
years with a final-round, 5-under-par 67
and a two-stroke victory over South Ko-
rean-born New Zealander Danny Lee.
Thomas and Lee made it mostly a
two-man show Sunday in the CJ Cup at
Nine Bridges. They entered the final
round tied and stayed that way through
the front nine.
Thomas birdied the 14th to take one-
stroke lead, then went up by two when
Lee bogeyed the 15th after missing a 10-
foot par putt and Thomas made a 2-
footer for par. After going from green-
side bunker to bunker on the 16th, Lee
bogeyed again and fell three behind. But
Thomas bogeyed the 17th after his 12-
footer for par lipped out, reducing the
deficit to two strokes.
Thomas and Lee both birdied the
18th, with Lee lipping out on his eagle
putt to finish with a 69.Thomas finished with a 72-hole total
of 20-under 268 at Nine Bridges.
Lee has had to deal with family is-
sues; after the third round he said his
second child was born prematurely.
Lee’s wife, Yoomi, was scheduled to de-
liver their child closer to Christmas. The
baby is currently in an incubator.
zLPGA:Danielle Kang shot a bogey-
free 2 under 70 to win the Buick LPGA
Shanghai for the second consecutive
year with a tournament-record 16-under
par 272. The 27-year-old American be-gan the day one stroke behind compa-
triot Jessica Korda, who shot a final-
round 72 to finish second at 15 under.
zPGA Tour Champions:Heavy rain
in Richmond, Virginia, forced the post-
ponement of the third round of the Do-
minion Energy Charity Classic. The first
of three tournaments in the tour’s
Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup play-
offs will resume on the Country Club of
Virginia’s James River Course at 8 a.m.
ET Monday. Scott Parel and Tommy
Tolles share the lead at 12 under par.GOLF ROUNDUP
Thomas wins once again in South Korea
The Associated Press
HOUSTON – Jose Altuve, drenched
in champagne and beer with an MVP
trophy tucked away in his locker, walked
back onto the field Saturday evening,
and there she was running towardhim.
It was his daughter, 2^1 ⁄ 2 -year-old Mel-
anie, jumping into his arms, taking off
his cap, placing it back on his head side-
ways. She picked up a piece of confetti
and gave him a kiss.
One day she’ll be told the whole story
and fully grasp what happened this
night.
Maybe then she’ll truly understand
the moment and savor it like every other
Astrosfan for the rest of their lives.
The night Altuve hit thathome run.
With one swing, 5-6 Altuve provided
one of the most magical moments in As-
tros’ franchise history, a two-out, ninth-
inning homer that lifted them past the
Yankees 6-4 and into the World Series.
The 29-year-old was named the AL
Championship Series’ MVP for his hero-
ics, batting .348 with two homers, three
RBI and six runs in the series.
“It was a Joe Carter-esque home run,”
Astros president Reid Ryan said. “He is
the best player in baseball.”
And maybe the best to ever wear an
Astros’ uniform.
“I’ve said things for five years now,
I’ve talked about how great this guy is,”
manager A.J. Hinch said, “and he con-
tinues to exceed expectations. It’s not
easy to deliver the way he does. The
playoff version of him is spectacular.
He’s turned himself into a star in his ca-
reer here and yet he’s remained humble,
he’s remained hungry. Everything that’s
right about the Astros is Jose Altuve.”
Even Hall of Famer Craig Biggio
couldn’t recall a more electrifying mo-
ment in franchise history.
“It’s Josey doing Josey things,” Biggio
said on the field, with the sellout crowd
in no hurry to go home. “Just a remark-
able player. Look at the hardware he has
at home. When he’s healthy, there’s
really nothing he can’t do. He can beat
you in every way. With his glove. His
speed. His power. He’s incredible.”
How many players could hit the big-
gest home run of their lifeand the first
thing out of their mouth is giving all of
the credit to a teammate, George
Springer, for drawing a two-out walk?
“That’s him, that’s Jose Altuve,” said
outfielder Josh Reddick. “I mean, we
just had our hearts broken. And he put it
back together.”
The Astros were two outs away from
winning the ALCS in the top of the
ninth, when D.J. LeMahieu hit a home
run just beyond the outstretched glove
of right fielder Springer, tying the scoreand silencing the roar of the crowd.
Then the bottom of the ninth came
around.
Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees’ All-
Star closer, opened the ninth by striking
out Martin Maldonado and getting Red-
dick out on a pop-up. Then he walked
Springer, giving the Astros hope.
Altuve, knowing that Chapman had
to be cautious, watched him throw a
98.5-mph fastball for ball one. Then an-
other, 97.3 mph fastball for ball two.
That’s when Reddick, sitting on the
dugout stairs to the far end of the bench,
leaned over to Michael Brantley and
blurted out: “ ‘He’s going to win it.’ ”
Chapman, desperate to regain his
control, went to his slider, 85.3 mph, for
a called strike.
Hinch thought about having Springer
steal second, putting him in scoring po-
sition so a hit would win the game, but
worried about the Yankees intentionallywalking Altuve, bringing up light-hit-
ting Jake Marisnick.
“I was kind of thinking, maybe he can
hook a ball in the corner,” Hinch said,
“and can George score from first. A cou-
ple of years ago, we won a game here (off
Chapman) by hooking a ball down the
corner, so I was thinking maybe we
could do the same.”
Chapman, not wanting to fall behind,
tried to throw another slider for a strike.
It hung over the plate.
Altuve swung with all of his might.
The ball soared 407 feet into the
night, high above the left-center-field
fence, and the celebratory scream
pierced the air, with Chapman standing
on the mound with his mouth wide
open, saying later, “I was in shock.”
“I just started running,” Springer
said, “knowing if it didn’t go out, I’ve got
to score. I didn’t really remember what
happened next. I just had to remember
to touch home plate. ...
“There’s not anything he does that
doesn’t surprise me anymore. That’s
why he is our guy. He’s an unbelievable
player, but even a better person, and to
have him in that situation is exactly
what we wanted.”
This is a player who came up on one
of the worst teams in baseball. The As-
tros were the laughingstocks of MLB,
losing 324 games from 2011 to 2013. Now,
here is Altuve, the heart and soul of a
potential AL dynasty. He’s an MVP
(2017), a three-time batting champion, a
six-time All-Star and World Series
champ.
Now, here are the Astros, four victo-
ries away from winning their second
World Series championship in three
years, facing the Nationals on Tuesday
in Game 1 at Minute Maid Park.
“This was a great series, and unbe-
lievable series, but the only difference,
is that we have Jose Altuve,” said Ryan,
the club’s president since 2013. “The
Yankees didn’t. It’s that simple.”Astros teammates lift Jose Altuve as they celebrate their second trip to the
World Series in three years Saturday. TROY TAORMINA/USA TODAY SPORTSBob Nightengale
Columnist
USA TODAY‘We’ve got Jose Altuve’: MVP lifts Astros to Series