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On April 12, Altuve connected for his second career grand slam, and first since 2014, in a 10–6 win over the Seattle Mariners. Altuve would hit another home run off of Félix Hernández the next night, making it the fifth consecutive game with a home run and sixth home run in that span. Altuve was the first Astro to hit a home run in five consecutive games since Morgan Ensberg's franchise-record six consecutive games in 2006. Houston won Game 1 of the 2017 ALDS comfortably, posting three multi-run innings in an 8-2 win over Boston. Altuve made Astros history in the process, becoming the club's first player to hit three home runs in a postseason game.
They were shut out on Friday and Saturday and had scored just two runs heading to the ninth inning Sunday. The Astros were staring a four-game losing streak heading into an All-Star break in which none of their four elected players, including Altuve, chose to play in Tuesday's All-Star Game. It was an unsubstantiated but juicy storyline that carried into this weekend for the Yankees' first trip to Houston since Altuve ended their 2019 season. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge even trolled Altuve by tugging at his jersey while rounding the bases following his homer Saturday night. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2017 in Los Angeles.
2017 World Series Game 5 vs. Dodgers (No.
It was an inning of insurance runs, as the Astros tacked on a few more, eventually winning the game 7-1. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve steps on home plate after hitting a solo home run to give the Astros a 2-0 lead during the fourth inning of Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021 at Truist Park in Atlanta. Prior to the 2018 season, Sports Illustrated ranked Altuve as the #2 player in baseball, trailing only Trout. On March 16, 2018, Altuve and the Astros agreed to a five-year, $151 million contract extension that would span the 2020–24 seasons. His current contract included a $6 million salary in 2018 and a $6.5 million team option in 2019. It was the largest contract in team history, and he became the sixth player to agree to a contract with an average annual value of $30 million per season or greater.
The only players with more are George Springer , Duke Snider , Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig , Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson . It was Altuve's 19th post-season home run, tying former teammate George Springer for the most in franchise history. Altuve endured an 0-for-16 performance in an ALDS sweep of the Mariners, including a career-worst 0-for-8 in third game which lasted a postseason record-tying 18 innings. The hitless streak extended to 25 at bats, setting a record for most to start a postseason, until Altuve hit an opposite-field double in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS.
2021 World Series Game 4 vs Atlanta at Truist Park
In the top of the first, Altuve hit a first-pitch, solo homer off Luis Severino, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead in a game they won 4-1. After splitting the first two games at home, it was a burst of energy that put the Astros on a path to a string of wins. During a contest versus the St. Louis Cardinals on July 28, Altuve homered off Dakota Hudson for his 1,500th career hit, one of three hits in a 6–2 win that afternoon, in his 1,190th career game. The only players in the divisional play era to reach the milestone faster were Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Gwynn and Derek Jeter. When it comes to Altuve postseason home runs, this one stands apart in a category of its own.
But it was the Astros who got the last laugh on Sunday when Altuve hit a dramatic three-run, walk-off homer to complete a stunning six-run rally in the ninth inning for an 8-7 win to send Houston into the All-Star break with a world of good vibes. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Alex Bregman #2 after hitting a three-run home run in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park on October 29, 2017 in Houston. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run in the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 12, 2021 in Chicago. Houston won Game 4 of the 2020 ALDS by a comfortable margin, beating Oakland 11-6 to clinch the series. Altuve's two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh capped an 11-run explosion for the Astros between the fourth and seventh innings.
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This was another instance of a home run that didn't impact the outcome of the game, as Altuve hit a three-run blast in the top of the ninth for the final scoring play of a 10-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Given the events following the previous game, though, Houston fans were happy to take all the runs they could get. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the seventh inning in Game Two of the World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 27, 2021 in Houston. While it didn't come in a Houston victory, the fact that it occurred during a close World Series matchup puts this one ahead of some of the others from winning efforts. Altuve put the Astros up 2-0 with a solo home run in the top of the fourth, but they didn't score again in a 3-2 loss.
Altuve seems to love late-inning exclamation points, but this was among the sweetest, since it came as part of a barrage of runs after the Astros’ hitting was questioned by White Sox pitching staff. The Astros and Altuve developed an odd pattern in 2020, since this was another early 1-0 lead that ended with an Astros loss, as the Rays took the game 5-2. Another from the top of the first, Altuve hit a solo shot off Blake Snell, giving the Astros an early 1-0 lead. But the low-scoring game eventually ended in a 2-1 loss to the eventual World Series contending Rays.
2019 ALCS Game 3 vs. Yankees (No.
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.
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.
Altuve's leadoff home run on September 19 versus the Rays started the Astros' scoring in a 4–0 win to the clinch a fifth AL West division title over the previous six seasons. On September 27, Altuve hit a leadoff home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was his twelfth leadoff home run this season, tying the Astros' team record set by George Springer in 2019. On September 11, 2015, Altuve recorded his 800th career hit, surpassing Biggio for the fastest Astro player to reach 800 hits.
As the teams head to Atlanta with the World Series tied at 1, Altuve’s 22nd postseason home run tied him for second all time with Bernie Williams, ranking behind only Manny Ramirez . Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve comes back out of the dugout to celebrate his third solo home run of the game during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the ALDS at Minute Maid Park on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Houston. Altuve hit home runs in the first, fifth and seventh innings to become just the 10th player to hit three post season home runs in one game.
The Red Sox illegally used a video replay room during 2018 regular-season games to decipher the signs of opposing catchers, three unnamed sources who were with the franchise that year told The Athletic. One or more players watched the live feed of the center field camera on the monitor, and after decoding the sign, a player would bang a nearby trash can with a bat or a massage gun to communicate the upcoming pitch type to the batter, according to the report. “I have never worn an electronic device in my performance as a major league player,” Altuve said in a statement Boras released to the New York Post. "Jose Altuve recorded his 1st 4-hit game of the season, last, Oct. 2, 2021 vs OAK...since he entered the league in 2…" – via Twitter. In 2019, Altuve's role in the 2017 World Series gained nationwide attention in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal.
Altuve's solo home run in Game 4 of the ALCS came in the bottom of the first, but it proved to be a valuable one. The Houston Astros veteran is closing in on Manny Ramirez's all-time MLB record.
Ranking every postseason home run hit by Astros' Jose Altuve
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.
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