Altuve’s 4 hits ignite rare show of offense
MINNEAPOLIS — Like clockwork, Jose Altuve drove an 0-2 fastball to center field and ran to first base. It was the seventh inning of the Astros’ 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, and their star second baseman had secured his major leaguebest seventh four-hit game of the season.
A day after relinquishing his title as baseball’s reigning Iron Man, Altuve re-entered the
lineup and again served as the engine that makes it go. He and the rest of the top four batters combined for nine of the team’s 12 hits in its best offensive game in 16 days.
“We needed it really bad,”
shortstop Carlos Correa said. “We had to get the offense going. We need to win games.”
Altuve matched the Astros’ hit total from the previous night at Target Field. Four singles bolstered his major league-leading batting average to .361, an incredible .429 in road games. He is 11 hits shy of becoming the quickest player in franchise history to reach 1,000 for a career.
His two-out single in Tuesday’s seventh inning off righthander Michael Tonkin marked his final plate appearance. The Astros had taken the lead an inning earlier, a three-run frame in which they sent eight batters to the plate.
“I was trying just to get good pitches to hit,” Altuve said. “I hit a couple pitches out of the zone, but I was just trying to put it in play and make Carlos behind me do his job. Obviously, he had a monster night.”
Correa ends homer drought
The lineup’s output was much needed for the reeling third-place club, which came into the night averaging 2.3 runs in its previous 14 games. Correa belted a two-run homer and delivered a key tworun single. George Springer tallied a pair of hits and drove in an insurance run on a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.
“Answering back after their big inning was important for us,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s the good version of us, and certainly I would like that to continue.”
Winners for only the fourth time in 15 games, the Astros received just enough pitching to secure the victory.
Although Mike Fiers (8-5) allowed four runs and lasted only five innings, the trio bridging the gap to closer Ken Giles combined for three scoreless frames. Jake Marisnick, playing center field in place of struggling Carlos Gomez, prevented a run with his arm on a play at the plate in the seventh.
Fiers allowed three home runs for the third time in 21 starts. Miguel Sano demolished a firstpitch cutter in the second. Three innings later, ex-Astros outfielder Robbie Grossman and Brian Dozier went back-to-back to put the Twins ahead 4-2.
Like Altuve’s, Correa’s productive night began early. He crushed the second pitch he saw, a 92 mph sinker from lefthander Hector Santiago, into the left-field seats. His 16th homer of the season was the Astros’ first in eight games, ending their longest drought since September 2014.
Four RBIs for No. 4 hitter
Santiago, who pitched for the Angels until he was traded last week, became the first pitcher Correa has homered three times against in his young career. The four RBIs matched a career high.
“I’m hitting fourth, so that’s my job, to be able to drive in runs, “Correa said. “Altuve is doing a great job getting on base for me, so I better drive in runs in order for me to help the team.”
The Astros’ seven runs were their most since they lit up Tim Lincecum and the Angels for 13 on July 24. They have scored five or more runs only three times since.
“No matter the situation, you always need this kind of game — go out there, swing the bats, score some runs,” Altuve said. “Everybody swung the bat today. Everybody was right there playing hard and this is the team we are.”