Jose Altuve is a major reason why the Houston Astros are so close to winning the World Series once more.
Houston, which had dropped the first two games of the American League Championship Series, completed a sweep of three games here Friday night after Altuve hit a three-run home run off Texas Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc in the top of the ninth inning. Houston had barely maintained a lead through the bottom of the ninth.
To win the best-of-seven series and make it to the World Series for the fifth time in the last seven seasons, Houston simply needs to win Game 6 or Game 7.
Altuve said on the field following the game, “That’s one of the craziest games I ever played in,” and he wasn’t kidding. Two lead-changing home runs, three ejections (including Houston manager Dusty Baker), a brief delay due to Baker’s refusal to leave the Astros dugout, and a leaping catch by a fielder playing defense for the first time in a postseason game all occurred in the final three innings.
“That was a huge, huge victory,” proclaimed Baker. “That will go down in history.”
There’s no way around it, said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, “it’s just a tough one. You must deal with it because it is a requirement of the game. And good teams handle it properly, and these men will put this incident behind them.
The Rangers had a chance to win this emotional contest after rallying past a potential Hall of Famer. With the best Houston relievers completely rested and starting pitcher Justin Verlander on the mound, the Astros were in a strong position to win the game after taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. The advantage was lost in the space of three pitches, though, as Corey Seager doubled, Evan Carter singled, and Adolis Garcia pounced on a fastball and blasted a three-run home run so far that Garcia had to stand at home plate and admire his accomplishment before stumbling up the first base line as well as slamming his bat in celebration.
After the half-inning concluded, Verlander bowed his head at the waist and imitated how his fastball had inadvertently sliced inside when he had intended for it to travel outside as he met catcher Martin Maldonado.
In the eighth inning, Garcia came to the plate with the Rangers leading 4-2; after a Carter walk, Bryan Abreu hit Garcia with a pitch; Garcia then turned and yelled at Maldonado. Maldonado claims that Garcia asked him, “Why like that?”
“Like what?” Maldonado gave a reply. Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and others tried to detain Garcia as both benches cleared. When the umpires opted to remove Garcia and Abreu, Baker threw his hat in disbelief and screamed indignation, leading to his own ejection. Baker steadfastly refused to get up from the Houston bench. Marvin Hudson, the home plate umpire, was addressed by crew chief James Hoye as saying, “He won’t leave.”
After Baker’s hat was finally returned, he was able to leave. As Leclerc warmed up for the ninth, Joe Espada, the bench coach for Baker, officially inserted two pinch-hitters who were both waiting near the on-deck circle.
In order to record one out, Leclerc joined the contest in the top of the eighth inning. The Garcia incident, the umpires’ discussion, Baker’s ejection, and Baker’s sit-in in the dugout were all events that he had to wait through. Before Leclerc went out to pitch the ninth, a considerable amount of time had elapsed. Later, Bochy expressed his annoyance at the length of time it took to resume play.
Bochy stated, “I was worried about the delay. “I was, truly. It was quite lengthy. Sincerely, it was taking too long. To be completely honest, what happened there is a bunch of shit. Who knows what their plans are, but it has happened before and they were unable to restart the game.
I’m not used to having to wait so long to pitch again, but that’s not an excuse, Leclerc later remarked. I needed to work harder and better execute my pitches.
After the game, Maldonado speculated that the Astros may have been ignited by the melee in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth inning, as Diaz and Singleton were getting ready to bat, Altuve took an iPad and started watching videos of his previous plate appearances against Leclerc to refresh his memory of the pitcher’s delivery, the way he released the ball, and how he had previously pitched him. Altuve didn’t need to prepare or have a chat before his 101st postseason game.
However, after Diaz singled, Singleton, who was batting for the first time in over three weeks, patiently waited through six pitches without swinging, eventually walking. Altuve observed this and later remarked that the two bench players’ composed plate appearances had done a lot to soothe and settle him.
Alex Bregman, the third baseman for the Astros, had praised Altuve’s fortitude and his place among some of the all-time postseason leaders prior to the game. In the team’s testing, Altuve performed the highest pound-for-pound leg presses and had the highest leap. In the offseason, he concentrates on keeping his core strong, in part through controlled nutrition. Bregman admitted he likes Coke. Never Altuve. Altuve entered this game with 25 postseason home runs in his career, which is second-most all-time behind Manny Ramirez’s 29 in the postseason and World Series. Jose Altuve, a 5-foot-6 player, has a history of attacking everything within the strike zone throughout the postseason.
Leclerc gave him a low, inside changeup with a 0-1 count, and Altuve swung. Leclerc didn’t believe Altuve had hit the ball particularly hard, so he wasn’t sure if his fly to left field would be far enough to clear the fence. The casual manner in which Altuve followed through, however, gave Diaz, who was watching from second base, the impression that his drive to left would cross the fence. This indicated to Diaz that Altuve knew the ball was gone.
The Astros’ dugout erupted in frantic delight as the second baseman bounced around the bases. Altuve looked over at hitting instructor Alex Cintron in the dugout after returning to it. “Wow,” Cintron exclaimed. “You are unbelievable.”
Altuve has made it a point during this postseason to downplay his own success, deflecting questions about his hits and role in postseason history like a nimble hockey goalkeeper. But among the other players in the jubilant Houston dugout, Altuve’s guard relaxed in answer to Cintron.
Altuve made a humblebrag allusion to his playoff home runs by saying, “I’ve got 26 home runs for a reason.” So clutch, Bregman remarked.
“He’s got a slow heartbeat, and he also loves big moments.” First of all, he wants to be up there, Baker said. Second, he has strong concentration, which is necessary in crucial situations like that. Even though I’ve seen some excellent people, this guy is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.
Although the Astros were in front, a lead had no significance in this contest. Texas hit a single to start the bottom of the ninth inning, followed by another single. Marcus Semien hit a line drive toward shortstop, and Grae Kessinger, who was filling in at shortstop for Singleton in the top of the ninth inning after entering the game as a pinch runner, leaped into the air and caught the ball.
The Astros collectively sighed, tumbling out of the dugout, and Ryan Pressly, who had persuaded Seager into a flyout before striking out Carter, was saved by that alone. Altuve hugged Kessinger close to second base, and when the Astros exited the field, Baker was there to meet them hatless. With this victory, the Astros moved one step closer to being the first team since the 1998–2000 Yankees to win back-to-back titles.