Gerald Hanks
A grieving family got more than they bargained for when they attended Games 1 and 2 of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park last week.
Videos by Rare
The games were the first trips Mike and Amanda Riley took their young son, Carson, to since the loss of their 15-year-old son, Cade, in an ATV accident a month before.
“Cade was the reason we were there,” Amanda Riley told the Houston Chronicle. “We were trying to get away. It was a good feeling, but it made me miss Cade a lot.”
The family traveled to Houston from their home in Liberty Hill, a small town about 35 miles north of Austin.
RELATED: A Despite being down in Boston, Astros fans have their eyes set on a pennant
The Rileys sat along the third base line during Game 1, a 2-1 Astros victory. The family noticed both Yankees third base coach Joe Espada and Astros relief pitcher Ken Giles wore number 53: the same number Cade wore for the Liberty Hill High School football team.
The next day, the family sat in the right field bleachers, where they met another family with two young boys. The boys had their names stitched on their Astros caps: Cade and Carson.
“I just started crying,” Amanda Riley said. “What are the odds? Two boys standing right where we’re supposed to be sitting. Side-by-side. Cade and Carson.”
Carson became part of one of the most memorable moments in Astros history later that day. A ball off the bat of Astros shorstop Carlos Correa barely cleared the right-field fence for a home run. The ball bounced off of Carson’s glove, into his mother’s lap, and stopped at his father’s feet.
RELATED: If you’re a Houston sports fan, you won’t want to miss this rare line-up of games
“All the signs showed us we were right where Cade wanted us to be,” Amanda told the newspaper. “The whole experience from the No. 53 on Friday night to the two kids near our seats to the players throwing balls to Carson, to the home run, it felt like Cade was telling us, ‘I’m good. Focus on Carson and have a good time.'”
[anvplayer video=”4140941″]
