Altuve's homer saves the day in Astros' comeback victory

KANSAS CITY -- In many ways, Jose Altuve’s two-run homer run in the eighth inning Saturday night felt like it saved the day for the Astros, considering the skies were about to open as the grounds crew at Kauffman Stadium had the tarp ready and the game was suddenly tied.

Raindrops began falling just as Altuve touched home plate, and soon tornado sirens were blaring, fans were scurrying for safety and the rain was blowing sideways. There weren’t any guarantees the game would have resumed if the Royals had the lead, but a tie meant there would be more baseball.

“Using a word from the NBA Finals, it was at the buzzer,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Altuve’s homer.

After a 91-minute rain delay, the Astros pushed the winning run across in the ninth when Joey Loperfido scored on Christian Walker fielder’s choice -- it would have been an inning-ending double play had Royals second baseman Nick Loftin not thrown the ball wide of first base -- and Bryan Abreu shut the door in the ninth to seal the Astros’ 8-7 win.

“How many times have we seen Altuve hit home runs in big moments?” Espada said. “That was it right there. They could have easily put the tarp on [prior to the inning], and the rain comes down and it could have been a different outcome. The fact that we tied that game up, we waited for the game to resume and we got the win.”

Homers by Altuve, Walker, Brice Matthews and Jake Meyers -- the second consecutive four-homer game for Houston -- helped the Astros wipe out deficits of 3-0, 5-2, and 7-5 to post their 12th come-from-behind win and third victory this year in 39 games when trailing after seven innings. None was bigger than Altuve’s that tied it at 7.

“I don’t know if they’re as excited to restart that game if they’ve got the lead,” said Walker, whose two-run homer in the fourth cut the Kansas City lead to 3-2. “That guy’s on another level. You need him to show up, you need him in a clutch moment, he comes through. A good pitch, too -- I think a ball above the zone. He’s always ready to hit, always ready to change the game. Props to ‘Tuve for giving us a chance.”

Altuve, who was 3-for-22 in seven games since coming off the injured list prior to Saturday, hit a first-pitch slider from reliever Matt Strahm that was above the strike zone and sent it a Statcast-projected 407 feet into left field for his first road homer this year. Altuve said he was looking for a pitch that was up.

“Even from the beginning of the game, we were aware that at some point it was going to rain,” Altuve said. “And we were a little worried if we were down in the game, and it rains too much, [that] they [would] cancel the game. It ended up being great for us. It rained, but we came back and we won. We did a lot of good stuff today and it’s important that we won.”

Altuve’s homer was the most dramatic, but the most impressive swing of the bat -- and the game’s biggest defensive play -- were both by rookie left fielder Matthews, who blasted a 434-foot homer to straightaway center in the fifth -- a two-run shot that tied the game at 4.

“I’m trying to keep it simple and put the bat to the ball,” Matthews said.

Carter Jensen put the Royals back on top, 7-5, in the sixth with a three-run double off Enyel De Los Santos, but Matthews kept the deficit at two by throwing out Jensen at the plate while he was trying to score on a fly ball. Matthews also threw out Mike Trout at the plate earlier this week in Anaheim.

“I'm a big fan of him,” Altuve said of Matthews. “He’s got so many tools. … I love the way he plays. Hopefully, he continues to do that and he keeps getting better. He has a big chance to be a superstar.”

Altuve has been a superstar for more than a decade, and Matthews, who grew up in Houston, has seen him hit the kind of clutch homers he did Saturday night many times.

“It was a good boost for the boys just to get back close and tie it up,” Matthews said. “He’s the GOAT, man. I’ve seen that so many times in my life growing up and to be on the same field with him and watch him do that is amazing.”