MIAMI -- Jose Altuve's bat was already scorching hot on the road coming into Wednesday's series finale at Marlins Park, a 3-0 win that completed the three-game sweep over Miami. Houston's second baseman was already leading the American League with a .373 batting average on the road this season.
So it should have come as no surprise that Altuve became the first Astros player to hit two triples and two doubles in the same game. He delivered a run-scoring double in the first inning before slamming triples in the third and fifth innings, and he finished his 4-for-5 showing with another double in the ninth.
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Altuve's hit probability, according to Statcast™, on the final double was at 52 percent. The exit velocity was 68.3 mph with a 216-foot distance. Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton couldn't run it down on a sliding attempt.
Two doubles and two triples in one game hasn't happened since 2005, and only 13 times ever. Oddly enough, Altuve is the first player from that group to not score in the game.
"That's crazy," said Altuve, who prefers to think in terms of team rather than individual accomplishments. "I'm trying to stay away from my numbers. I feel like it's way too early to be thinking about things like homers, batting average, RBI.
"I think what you have to be thinking about right now is about helping your team to win. I feel so excited about the way we've been playing. We're having a lot of fun."
"We were working on him inside," Marlins starting pitcher Jose Urena said of Altuve. "But you can't just go in, go in. You've got to miss in and go in and out. If he gets a good pitch to hit, he hit it."
Astros manager A.J. Hinch wasn't surprised a bit that Altuve would be in an elite class when it comes to hitting.
"This guy can really play," Hinch said. "He just shows up and plays with energy every day. He performs at such an elite level. He's not very vocal. He's not the guy front and center all the time, but he's a mainstay. That's why he's in the middle of the order."
Altuve is the third player in Astros history to record four extra-base hits in a game, joining Jeff Bagwell (June 14, 1996) and Kevin Bass (June 27, 1987). It's also Altuve's first career two-triple game.
Altuve himself is lost for an explanation as to why he plays so well on the road.
"I don't know, I'm trying to figure it out," he said. "It seems like I'm two different players -- one on the road and one when we play at home. I don't want to make excuses. I want to be consistent and be the same player on the road as at home."