Altuve, Judge in one last tilt

HOUSTON — Voting for the AL MVP is done already, based strictly on the regular season. Yet, as a metaphor for just how close the battle for that award was, the front-runners, Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge, have had an intriguing give-and-take in the ALCS.

When Altuve has had huge hits at home in Games 1, 2 and Friday night’s Game 6, the Astros have won. When Judge had substantial hits at home in Games 3, 4 and 5, the Yankees won. The series is tied 3-3 going to Saturday night’s Game 7 — Yankees vs. Astros, but once more and for the final time in 2017, Judge vs. Altuve.

Altuve was 5-for-9 in the first two games and dashed home from first on Carlos Correa’s winning walk-off double in the ninth inning of Game 2. The AL batting champ then went hitless in 10 atbats in The Bronx.

He had a groundout and strikeout in his first two at-bats in Game 6. With the bases loaded and two outs and Houston finally having scored a run against Luis Severino, Altuve smashed a first-pitch slider from Severino for a two-run single.

“As soon as we start playing, we forgot about the last three games in New York,” Altuve said. “And when I did that, I was just trying to get the team going.”

Judge homered in the eighth to get the Yankees within 3-1, but Altuve answered with his own homer to lead off the bottom of the inning against David Robertson, initiating a four-run assault that guaranteed a 7-1 triumph.

It also guaranteed one more Judge vs. Altuve matchup in Game 7.