Breakout night for Altuve sees 'Stros take one back from Philly
Final Score: 5-2
HOUSTON – The Houston Astros has always been an offensively potent team.
But throughout the postseason, there have been some notables experiencing some struggles at the plate. One of those names is none other than second baseman Jose Altuve.
The veteran was slashing just .108 through 37 plate appearances this postseason headed into last night’s contest. But he was on a mission to set the tone last night, and set the tone is exactly what he did.
The leadoff hitter was looking like vintage Alutve to start as he laced a double down the left field line to open up the game against Zack Wheeler. This was followed up with a double from Jeremy Pena to quickly bring around Altuve to make it 1-0 early.
Power-hitter Yordan Alvarez was after Pena and promptly hammered one off of the wall to bring Pena around for a quick 2-0 lead. With the consecutive doubles, the Astros became the first team in World Series history to open the game with three straight extra-base hits.
The ‘Stros added another in the bottom of the first but the story of the night was Altuve. After what has been a forgettable October for the 32-year-old, he looked like himself at the plate last night with three hits, including a double, sparking Houston to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies to even the Fall Classic.
"Boy, it was great to see,'' manager Dusty Baker said. "All the guys on the team were extremely happy for him and for us to see him have that kind of game. Hopefully he can continue and start to roll the way Altuve can roll.”
But it wasn’t just the offence that was rolling. Framber Valdez was locked in from the start of this one as the fifth-year starter delivered 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball with nine punchouts.
It was a well-rounded effort from an Astros team that has no shortage of postseason experience.
The teams will have a day off to travel on Sunday before kicking off three straight games at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia with game three going Monday night.