Jose Altuve hits walk-off home run against Yankees
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In the top of the fourth, Altuve hit a solo shot off Kendall Wright, putting the Astros up 2-0, although they would go on to drop the game to the Braves, 3-2. In a game where the Atros’ offense struggled mightily, Altuve still showed up. In the bottom of the first, Altuve cranked a solo homer off Jesus Luzardo that tied the game at 1. Although, this proved to be a slugfest that the Astros lost 9-7. White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera suggested the Astros were up to some "sketchy stuff" at Minute Maid Park after his team's 12-6 win in Game 3.
When it comes to Altuve postseason home runs, this one stands apart in a category of its own. The Astros led the Yankees after each of the first eight innings in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS, but New York was able to plate two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game up. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman—who was coming off his sixth of seven All-Star seasons, and who hadn't allowed a run in his previous eight playoff appearances—walked Springer with two outs, bringing Altuve to the plate. Altuve playoff home runs tend to coincide with Astros victories, with Houston going 16-5 in postseason games in which he goes deep.
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In the bottom of the sixth, Altuve took right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck deep on the first pitch of the at-bat for a two-run homer that tied the game at 3, sparking a rally that led to a 5-4 Astros win. In the bottom of the first, Altuve hit a solo homer off Ryan Yarbrough. 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. With the World Series headed back to Houston, the Astros could use some more postseason power from Altuve.
He claimed it was because his wife didn’t like it when his teammates ripped off his shirt, but it led to speculation that the Astros were using buzzers under their jerseys to relay stolen signs in real time. MLB investigated the Altuve accusations and said they found nothing. 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. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates after hitting a solo home run against David Robertson #30 of the New York Yankees during the eighth inning in Game Six of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 20, 2017 in Houston.
Jose Altuve's homer lifts Astros past Yankees to win AL pennant
In the bottom of the ninth, with 2 outs and the game tied at 4, Altuve blasted a 2-run homer off Aroldis Chapman’s 83 mph sinker to end the game and send the Astros to the 2019 World Series. Chapman had seemingly lost the zone entirely, walking Springer on five pitches in the previous at bat. With his fastball especially wild on his first two pitches to Altuve, he turned to his slider for a strike, making the count 2-1. Chapman’s look of complete disbelief and the roof being blown off Minute Maid Park as the crowd went bonkers makes this the most iconic of Altuve’s long list of postseason home runs.
And, ultimately, Chapman said, he bears responsibility for the hanging 2-and-1 slider that Altuve blasted to left-center. Tom Verducci covers Major League Baseball and brings Sports Illustrated 41 seasons of experience. He lost the ALCS by getting beat by Altuve with Marisnick in the on-deck circle and two outs.
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Altuve carried his bat about halfway down the first base line before tossing it aside, a rare show of swagger for the usually deferential infielder. Altuve, who previously was deadlocked with Bernie Williams at 22, is the beating orange heart of the Astros’ organization and a postseason juggernaut. He can lean out over the plate to pull a pitch on the outside corner or turn on a ball inside and send it soaring down the left-field line.
Washington completed its four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 15, the night Houston and New York played Game 3 of their six-game tussle. Houston defeated the Yankees in the ALCS for the second time in three seasons. The Astros also knocked New York out of the postseason for the third time in five years -- something no other team has done to the Bronx Bombers. Altuve said the homer was probably his best career moment to date, but he wouldn't take credit for the win. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve celebrates his home run in the tenth inning of Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, in Los Angeles.
Those who have played with him admire him as much as any player they've met, and they had no doubt he was going to come through again in the clutch. "Everybody thought we were going to lose this game, except for us," he told reporter Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet. "We kept grinding and kept battling every time and we made it happen."
Boone was in his rights to trust Chapman to pitch smartly rather than automatically put Altuve on with an intentional walk. Marisnick had faced Chapman once in his career, in 2017, and struck out. With Altuve, Chapman threw two fastballs designed to get Altuve to chase if he wanted, but Altuve did not bite. Then Chapman flipped in a decent 2-and-0 slider for a strike, arriving as confirmation that he was not going to give in to Altuve, not with Marisnick standing there on deck.
Tensions were high as the 2017 ALCS went back to Houston, with the Yankees taking a 3-2 series lead following three straight wins in New York. Altuve helped give the Astros some breathing room in Game 6, hitting a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth, giving them a three-run lead. They piled on three more runs in the inning and walked away with a 7-1 win. There are as many reasons to love baseball as there are pitches in a season. One of the best of them, even if you are a New York Yankees fan who just watched him cut through your heart with one mighty swing, is Jose Altuve, the dynamo of a second baseman for the Houston Astros. Altuve blasted a two-run, walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, igniting a raucous crowd and sending Houston to the World Series for the third time in franchise history and second time in three years.
All that is great about baseball is packed into that 5-foot-6, 165-pound body, like one of those super concentrated detergents. Instead, they’ll spend the next few days mulling over this one, sitting eight games back of first-place Boston in the AL East. Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer in the top of the eighth to make it 7-2 and seemingly put the Yankees in a position to finish off the game. After a visit from pitching coach Matt Blake, pinch-hitter Jason Castro singled to center, moving Toro to third. Abraham Toro followed with a shot to right that Judge couldn’t chase down for an RBI double to cut the Yankees’ lead to two runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, with no outs, George Springer and Altuve went back to back for a pair of homers off Corey Kluber, giving the Astros a 4-0 lead in a game they went on to win 7-2. Then the All-Star let his teammates rip off his jersey, trolling the Yankees, who had been mocking him all weekend. Altuve had hit a walkoff home run off Aroldis Chapman to send the Astros to the World Series in 2019 and hugged his jersey to his chest as he came home, telling his teammates not to tear his jersey off his chest.
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. 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.
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