Altuve joins elite crowd with 3 homers in rout
HOUSTON — Majorleague batting champion Jose Altuve put on a power show Thursday as the Astros roughed up Chris Sale and the Red Sox 8-2 in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
Buoyed by chants of “MVP” in each trip to the plate, the 5-foot-6 Altuve hit solo homers in the first and fifth innings off Sale. He connected again in the seventh off Austin Maddox.
“As soon as I cross the white line, I feel the same size as everyone else,” Altuve said.
It was just the 10th time a player had hit three home runs in a postseason game and first since Pablo Sandoval did it for the Giants in the 2012 World Series opener against the Tigers.
“I told him the last time I’ve seen three home runs in a game was Pablo Sandoval, and I gave up two of them, so I’m glad there’s somebody new that’s done it,” winning pitcher Justin Verlander said.
Altuve seemed as surprised as anyone that he had entered a category with Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols.
“I hit one and I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Altuve said. “And the second one is like, ‘Wow, what’s going on here?’ ”
And his the third?
“I’ve got to wake up,” he said, flashing a huge grin.
Said manager A.J. Hinch: “It’s incredible to watch him step up and be every bit the star that we needed today for sure.”
Verlander surrendered two runs on six hits in six innings. He is 5-0 with a 2.24 ERA in nine career starts in the division series. thoughts after
Sale, the major-league strikeout leader with 308, was tagged for seven runs in five-plus innings and struck out six in his postseason debut. He allowed three homers and three doubles, just the second time in his career that he had given up six extra-base hits.
“Never really gave my team a chance to win,” Sale said. “Put them in a hole early. They fought back and they fought back hard, and I gave it right back to them. It happens, (but a) terrible time for it to happen.”