Houston Astros infielder Jose Altuve has been a vital presence for the club for several years. That continued on Friday, as he smacked a seventh-inning, game-tying two-run shot against the Boston Red Sox that turned the tide in an 8-4 victory.
Astros manager Joe Espada sounded off about Altuve's greatness, via MLB.com's Molly Burkhardt.
“There's something about Jose [in a] big moment, where he raises to that level,” Espada said. “He wants to be at that level. He wants to be the guy in the moment. And that's how everything starts, you’ve got to believe that you can come through for your team. And you see Jose just getting big swings over and over again.”
Altuve's blast over Fenway Park's Green Monster was the 224th of his career, moving to third all-time on Houston's team list.
“Trust me, I don't get tired of them, and I will never get tired of watching him get big swings. He's just a player that is meant for big spots.”
Altuve hadn't homered in 20 games, which was his longest streak without a long ball in two years. Will the 34-year-old get his power back over the stretch run?
Jose Altuve finds different ways to contribute to the Astros
Altuve has hit well this season, as his 139 base knocks are fifth-most in the MLB. However, 103 of them are singles.
“I’ve been working on it, been working on trying to drive the ball again,” Altuve admitted. “I know I’ve been getting on base, but not hitting for power. But homers, I think they are like any other hit in baseball. They come in [bunches] and you don’t get any for two months, and then you hit again. So hopefully that’s one of many to come for me in the second half.”
Hitting is a mental battle, and Altuve also revealed that his no-homer streak had gotten in his head, via The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara.
“Yeah, kind of,” Altuve said. “I would lie if I said no. But you don’t want to try to hit homers, I’ve never done that before. I just try to stay in my approach, get a good pitch to hit, and if I hit a homer, good. If not, then I’ll try to get it in the next at-bat.”
Altuve is slashing .302/.355/.801 with 15 homers, 50 RBI, and 15 stolen bases thus far. Although the Venezuelan native's power hasn't been as prevalent as in other years, his small-ball game has still helped Houston. Altuve and Yordan Alvarez are tied for the team lead in batting average, and he's leading the teams in stolen bases.
If “Tuve” starts raking more homers, it could be the last push the Astros need to take the AL West crown over the Seattle Mariners. The two teams are tied for first place as of Saturday afternoon.
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