Jose Altuve hits walk-off home run against Yankees

Table of Content

• No doubter: Altuve wins MVP after walk-off blast3y
• Jose Altuve's homer lifts Astros past Yankees to win AL pennant
• 2020 ALCS Game 3 vs Tampa Bay at Petco Park
• The 9 best remaining MLB free agents left in the 2022-23 offseason
• 2021 ALDS Game 4 vs Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field
• 2020 ALCS Game 4 vs Tampa Bay at Petco Park
• 2020 ALDS Game 4 vs Oakland at Dodger Stadium

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.

Not just a highlight, but one of those Bobby Thomson/Hank Aaron/Chris Chambliss moments that get forever preserved in the game’s amber. HOUSTON – If you get it, in the way a poet hears the muse and a sculptor sees the form, you know how good baseball can be for the soul. Baseball can be our companion on a car radio on a summer evening, our place to dine al fresco with family as we wonder from the third deck how the umpire could possibly have missed that pitch, or simply ballast to our busy lives, always there when we need it. Boone already pointed to Thursday, when the Yankees open the second half with a four-game series against the first-place Red Sox in The Bronx that could determine whether they have a shot to get back into the AL East race. With the pennant secured, the Astros will open the World Series on Tuesday at home against the well-rested Washington Nationals.

No doubter: Altuve wins MVP after walk-off blast3y

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.

Chapman bullied his way through Martin Maldonado and Josh Reddick to start the last of the ninth. Springer and Altuve were the next two hitters, followed by Jake Marisnick, a defensive specialist and .233 hitter whose last RBI was 39 days ago. They still had Chapman and Luis Severino to pitch, and the Astros were about to give the ball to Hector Rondon, who had pitched to two batters in the previous three weeks.

Jose Altuve's homer lifts Astros past Yankees to win AL pennant

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. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was the latest player to discuss the Astros' sign-stealing scandal on Thursday.

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.

2020 ALCS Game 3 vs Tampa Bay at Petco Park

Keep reading for a look at where each of Altuve's postseason home runs stack up. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the Houston Astros batters didn't use wearable devices such as buzzers as part of the team's larger sign-stealing scheme, but New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman appears unconvinced. "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." "It was 100 percent coming off after that home run," said rookie outfielder Chas McMcCormick, who keyed the rally with a two-run double.

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.

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."

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.

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.

"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.

Although they lost Game 4 on Saturday, the Astros are 17-5 in the playoffs when Altuve homers. Besides Minute Maid Park, where he has homered 13 times in the playoffs, Dodger Stadium and Petco Park are the next-leading ballparks, having hit three apiece there. It helped that the Astros played postseason series at both places during last year's pandemic-shortened season.

Houston responded by pummeling them for 10 runs in Chicago to clinch the ALDS in four games. 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. Perhaps the most improbable thing about the ninth-inning rally is how lifeless the Astros had looked offensively all weekend against the Yankees.