Jose Altuve sends Astros to World Series with home run vs Yankees Sports Illustrated

Table of Content

• Jose Altuve Delivers Postseason Moment Worthy of His Stature in Baseball
• 2019 ALCS Game 6 vs New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park
• Yankees bring Bronx product home in free agency
• The Houston Astros veteran is closing in on Manny Ramirez's all-time MLB record.
• 'Altuve did it again' with walk-off HR vs. Yanks
• 2021 World Series Game 4 vs Atlanta at Truist Park
• 2021 ALCS Game 1 vs. Red Sox (No.
• 2021 World Series Game 4 vs. Braves (No.

In the top of the 10th, with no outs and the game tied at 3, Altuve gave the Astros the lead with a line drive, solo home run off Josh Fields. This home run boosted the Astros’ chances of winning by 34%, more than any other of Altuve’s non-walk-off postseason homers. Correa tacked on another with a back-to-back home run, before giving up the lead in the bottom of the inning. George Springer hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th, and the Dodgers rallied with a homer of their own in the bottom, but the Astros held on to win 7-6 in one of the best World Series games ever—at least until 4 nights later. The 2018 ALDS was about as dominant as it gets for the Astros, who swept the Cleveland Indians in three games with a plus-15 run differential.

The Yankees’ 2019 season ended in pure heartbreak Saturday night, but you might not have been able to tell from the way Aroldis Chapman exited the diamond. The attention paid to the scandal might lessen somewhat with the start of the regular season, when everybody will have more to talk about in MLB. On a 2-1 count, Chapman decided to throw a slider high and outside to Altuve. It’s understandable for Chapman to stay aggressive in that situation — even if he could have considered walking Altuve. But the 83-mph slider hung over the plate enough for Altuve to crush it.

Jose Altuve Delivers Postseason Moment Worthy of His Stature in Baseball

"It's incredible," said Astros starter Justin Verlander, who is lined up to start Game 2, likely against Washington's Stephen Strasburg. "I keep saying incredible, but it really is. The Nationals have a great rotation, have a great four starters. I like our rotation as well. It should be a great series." The Nationals likely will counter with Max Scherzer, making the Series opener the first of a series of high-profile pitching confrontations. "We're not done yet," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "This series could have gone either way. The last series could have gone either way. We knew we had built a team to win. Now we get a chance to prove it."

He’s unafraid to launch a ball from the depths of his shoelaces or the height of his chin. Seemingly, there’s no great way to pitch Altuve, who’s capable of doing damage at any moment, but especially early in the count, as seven of his playoff home runs have come on the first pitch. Game 2 of the 2017 World Series wasn't short on power, with each team connecting on four long balls, and five home runs coming in extra innings alone. Altuve and Carlos Correa opened the top of the 10th with back-to-back solo shots, but the Dodgers answered back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning.

2019 ALCS Game 6 vs New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park

Coming off his second Tommy John surgery, Taillon got his ERA under 5.00 in his first 17 starts back with his outing Sunday. He’s struggled with command and consistency through the first half. Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros hits a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of Game Four of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 19, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (#27) celebrates a home run in game 7 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park in Houston. 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.

After 107 regular-season wins, the Astros ended up where the consensus figured them to be -- at least, the consensus of baseball pundits and the betting markets. Their path was rocky at times -- the five-game AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the early struggles against New York -- but that's how October baseball goes. Now, Houston is positioned to stake claim to the dynastic throne the Yankees have occupied so often in baseball's history.

Yankees bring Bronx product home in free agency

HOUSTON -- There was no way Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was escaping the field at Minute Maid Park on Sunday afternoon without having his jersey ripped off by his teammates. Altuve hit a walk-off home run against Chapman to send the Astros to the 2019 World Series. Houston's second baseman clutched his collar as he rounded third base, imploring teammates not to rip off his jersey. The video has increased suspicion whether the Astros used buzzers under their jerseys, though that has been denied by Houston over the last month.

Just when it seemed like the momentum of American League Championship Series Game 6 had entirely swung back in New York’s favor, the Houston Astros punched their ticket to the World Series in thrilling fashion. Jose Altuve walloped a two-out, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Chapman, sending Minute Maid Park into a frenzy and leaving the visitors with a bad taste in their mouths. The emotions from Altuve were taken to another level when he was informed minutes after the game ended that his father had been taken to a Houston hospital. There was no word on the seriousness of his condition, but before he got the news, Altuve spoke about his belief in his team.

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. After all, it was Altuve' three-run, go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on May 6 -- also off Chad Green -- at Yankee Stadium that avoided a sweep and sparked the Astros to a surge into the All-Star break. Maldonado, who pulled down his jersey before touching home following his second-inning homer Sunday in response to Judge, said it was the best game of the regular season to date.

"And yeah, if you look at his actions, they look a little suspicious. At the end of the day, I just don't know," Chapman said, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. I can't tell you if he had the sign or didn't have the sign–I don't know.

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."

They return from the break Thursday with eight of their first 10 games against the Red Sox, who finished the first half having lost four of their last five. He is a Houston native and has previously worked at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Huntsville Item and iHeartMedia. He enjoys Australian Rules Football, LSU game days in Baton Rouge and being tortured by the DePaul men's basketball program.

The Astros went on to win in 10 innings on a walk-off single by Alex Bregman, and they would clinch the franchise's first World Series a few days later in Los Angeles. 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. 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.

He hit a two-run blast to tie the game up, helping Houston go on to win 5-4. 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. 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.

2021 ALCS Game 1 vs. Red Sox (No.

It was an inning of insurance runs, as the Astros tacked on a few more, eventually winning the game 7-1. It was Altuve's 19th post-season home run, tying former teammate George Springer for the most in franchise history. With Houston leading the Yankees by one in Game 7 of the ALCS, Altuve helped spark a three-run fifth inning with a solo shot. The Astros held on to win 4-0 to advance to the World Series for the second time in franchise history. Altuve's third solo home run of this contest wasn't memorable in terms of the impact on the game, as Houston was already winning 7-2, but it did carry significance. In addition to making Astros history, this blast made him the ninth player ever to hit three home runs in a playoff game.

Instead, it's Houston that might someday be remembered as the team of the decade that's coming to a close. For that to happen, the Astros need to take one more step, and they are well aware that they have unfinished business. The Astros capped their third straight 100-win season with another AL title, and in doing so, they ensured that the Yankees go without a pennant in the 2010s, marking their first decade without a league title since before they acquired Babe Ruth in 1920. Houston Astros Jose Altuve celebrates his two-run home run with Martin Maldonado during the seventh inning of Game 4 of the American League Division Series, at Dodger Stadium, Thursday, October 8, 2020, in Los Angeles.