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Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a solo home run off of Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox during the fifth inning of game one of the American League Division Series on October 5, 2017 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Altuve gave the Astros their first lead of the 2019 postseason, hitting a two-run shot off the Rays in the bottom of the fifth to put Houston up 2-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Even when the Houston Astros were a historically bad baseball team early in his career, Jose Altuve served as a rare bright spot for a franchise that had nothing but the future to look forward to. Now, 12 years into his career, Altuve is among the most prolific playoff performers in MLB history for an annual World Series contender. In the bottom of the seventh, Altuve hit a solo shot into the Crawford Boxes on the first pitch of the at bat against Drew Smyly, making the game 7-2, Astros. In the top of the ninth, Altuve blasted a first-pitch, three-run homer off closer Liam Hendriks, making it 10-1.
The Astros found themselves trailing the Red Sox 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth in Game 1 of the ALCS, but Altuve changed that outlook with one swing of the bat. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros hits a home run in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on October 4, 2019 in Houston. HOUSTON -- On Monday, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa answered what he appreciates most about longtime teammate Jose Altuve. In the bottom of the fifth, Altuve took the first pitch of the at-bat deep off Chris Sale, giving him his second home run of the day, and extending the Astros lead to 5-2.
Appearances on Leaderboards, Awards, and Honors
It was his 6th All-Star selection overall and his 5th consecutive appearance and 4th straight start. On July 29, Altuve was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his MLB career due to right knee discomfort. Plagued with a right knee injury, the Astros announced that Altuve would serve as the designated hitter for the remainder of the season. In July, Altuve hit .485 for the fifth-highest average in one month since 1961. Over 23 games, he accumulated 48 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 21 RBI, and 1.251 OPS.
After taking the first two games in Houston, with Altuve scoring the winning run in Game 2, Altuve and the Astros offense slumped as they lost all three middle games at Yankee Stadium. He hit a solo home run in a 4−0, Game 7 win in which the Astros advanced to their second World Series in franchise history, to face the National League pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. After a strong 2007 season in the Venezuelan Summer League in which he hit .343, Altuve moved to the United States in 2008 and hit .284 in 40 games for the Greeneville Astros in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. On April 9, 2019, Altuve hit his 100th career home run off New York Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loáisiga.
2017 World Series Game 5 vs. Dodgers (No.
"I knew we had already lost three and it wasn't going to be fun going to the break losing a fourth game," he said. "It was pretty amazing how Altuve did it again. He's a guy with a big heart, the face of this team. … I would say Altuve, the guy's done it for many years. Seeing him out there and when he got to the plate, we know something big is going to happen." Down 7-2 heading to the ninth, the Astros posted their first win when trailing by five or more runs in the ninth inning since July 25, 1980 (and the first ended on a walk-off hit since July 24, 1978).
It was also Altuve's second straight game with at least three hits, a 6–1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on June 30. He hit his third career grand slam and second of the season on July 14, yielding the Astros a franchise record-breaking ninth grand slam in a single season. On July 8, 2018, Altuve was selected as the starting second baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game, collecting the most votes of any player with 4,849,630 votes.
2017 ALCS Game 6 vs New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park
Altuve had an answer of his own in the bottom half of the inning, blasting a three-run home run off Kenta Maeda to even the score. The final score of 9-2 doesn't give justice to how close Game 4 of the 2021 ALCS actually was. Altuve came to the plate with the Red Sox up 2-1 in the top of the eighth, and proceeded to hit a game-tying solo shot over the Green Monster.
The second of these was a solo shot off Chris Sale in the bottom of the fifth that stretched Houston's lead to three runs. Altuve got the Astros started on a promising note in the 2020 ALCS, hitting a solo shot off Tampa Bay pitcher Blake Snell in the top of the first inning of Game 1. Unfortunately for Houston, the team failed to score again throughout the 2-1 loss, despite recording nine hits compared to just six for Tampa Bay.
2021 ALCS Game 1 vs. Red Sox (No.
Altuve became the first MLB player since 1933 to have 130 hits and 40 stolen bases before the All-Star Break. For the 2022 regular season, Altuve batted .300, reaching the mark for the first time since 2018, and tied his career high with 66 walks in 141 games. He finished eighth in the AL in batting, fourth in each of OBP (.387), SLG (.533) and OPS (.921), and third in OPS+ . He also ranked second both with 103 runs scored and stolen base percentage (94.74, 18-for-19), eighth in doubles , and tenth in total bases . Altuve won his fourth Luis Aparicio Award, and was nominated for the AL Hank Aaron Award.
Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros hits a solo home run against Kyle Wright #30 of the Atlanta Braves during the fourth inning in Game Four of the World Series at Truist Park on October 30, 2021 in Atlanta. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros is congratulated by teammate Carlos Correa #1 after his solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning in game five of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park on October 10, 2019 in Houston. As Correa has tried to instill Altuve’s mindset into himself and other players in the Astros' clubhouse, manager Dusty Baker had a simpler explanation for Altuve’s ability to bounce back after poor offensive nights. In the bottom first, Altuve sent a Tyler Glasnow 100 mph fastball out of the park, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead that led them to an eventual 4-3 win.
Heading into the 2022 ALCS, Altuve ranks second all-time with 23 postseason home runs (and tops in first-inning playoff blasts). He trails only Manny Ramirez, who hit a record 29 bombs in his playoff career. The Astros' second baseman launched a leadoff home run in the seventh inning and climbed up the postseason home run leaderboard in Houston’s 7-2 win over the Braves at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros had a better result against the Rays in Game 5 of the 2019 ALDS, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first on their way to a series-clinching 6-1 victory. Altuve followed up a solo home run from Michael Brantley with one of his own in the bottom of the eighth, stretching Houston's lead to five. The 2020 ALCS wasn't a good one for the Astros in terms of capitalizing off Altuve home runs, as they dropped two out of the three games he went yard in. Houston was defeated 5-2 in Game 3, despite another first-inning smash from Altuve. Game 3 of the 2020 ALDS featured another first-inning solo blast from Altuve that didn't result in an Astros win, as the Oakland Athletics rallied late to pull out a 9-7 victory. Keep reading for a look at where each of Altuve's postseason home runs stack up.
For the second consecutive season, he won the Players Choice Awards for Major League Player of the Year and AL Outstanding Player. He won his fourth consecutive and overall Silver Slugger Award at second base. Voted as a starter in the All-Star Game at Marlins Park in Miami, Altuve batted leadoff and played second base. Over two games versus the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies on July 23–24, he set the club record for hits in consecutive plate appearances with eight. For his performance in the month of June 2016, Altuve was named AL Player of the Month for the first time in his career. He had batted .420, six doubles, four home runs, 15 RBI, six stolen bases and 1.112 OPS (.492 OBP/.620 SLG) in 26 games.
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