WEST SACRAMENTO -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has turned into an on-base machine in the first 10 games of the season, and he’s still doing things on defense that remind us of why he’s likely headed to the Hall of Fame one day.
Altuve went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two walks and an RBI in the Astros’ 12-10 loss in 10 innings to the A’s on Sunday afternoon, but the fact the game even went to extra innings was because of Altuve, who moved back to second base this year after last year’s experiment in left field and appears to be rejuvenated.
Altuve threw out the winning run at the plate with two outs in the ninth inning on a heady play. He made a diving stop of Shea Langeliers' single on the outfield grass and rose to his feet to throw out Jeff McNeil, who was trying to score from second. Astros catcher Yainer Diaz made a nice grab of the one-hop throw and tagged McNeil.
“It’s instinct,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He knew the situation. He knows if he was the runner at second base [Astros third base coach] Tony [Perezchica] is going to send him, so he knows there’s a chance this guy is going to turn the base and try to score. That's an incredible play. Instincts took over. Big play also by Diaz with a big scoop and a tag.”
Altuve said he was trying to knock the ball down to keep it from going into center field, which would have won the game for the A’s in the ninth.
“I got the ball and I looked up and he was running to home plate, so I made a good throw over there,” he said.
Through 10 games, Altuve is slashing .344/.523/.594 with more walks (12) than strikeouts (seven), which is remarkable considering he struck out twice as many times as he walked last year. He’s the poster child for the Astros’ revamped approach at the plate this year, with the club stressing seeing more pitches and making opposing pitchers attack the zone.
“I’m just trying to hit my pitch instead of just swinging at everything,” Altuve said. “I’m just focusing on getting a good pitch, and we know we got good hitters on this team. I’m not trying to make a big swing, I’m just trying to get my pitch. If not, I’ll go to first for the guys behind me.”
The guy directly behind him is Yordan Alvarez, who hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and drew two walks. He’s slashing a whopping .400/.578/.900 (1.478 OPS) with four homers and 19 RBIS in 10 games.
With their improved offensive approach, the Astros are off to an incredible start at the plate and proving they're not out of any game. They roared back from a 6-0 deficit on March 28 against the Angels and scored 11 unanswered runs for their first win of the season. On Sunday, they were down 9-5 in the eighth inning and scored four times to tie the game, capped by a two-run single by Cam Smith.
The Astros lead the Major Leagues in runs scored (70), averaging seven per game, and walks (61), averaging 6.1 per game. They had 29 hits and 24 walks in the last two games of the series against the A’s, something no team has done in a two-game span since at least 1900.
“You’re never out of it, right, because you're forcing guys to throw strikes and you’re forcing them to use pitchers that they have pitched the first game or two [of a series] and you have a better chance to score runs,” Espada said. “Credit to our guys. They’re staying disciplined, staying without ourselves. It's somebody different every day -- Cam Smith with a big hit. All that stuff is important. It’s early, but we’re starting to show that this is who we are going to be and we’ve got to show up every day and do this.”