Buster OlneyESPN Senior Writer Oct 20, 2023 11:11pm ET6 minutes read
Jose Altuve smashed the go-ahead run in the 9th for a 3-run home run
Jose Altuve hits a massive 3-run go-ahead home run in the 9th to give the Astros a 5-4 lead.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Houston Astros are once again on the verge of reaching the World Series thanks to Jose Altuve.
Altuve hit a three-run home run off Texas Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc in the top of the ninth inning, and Houston, which had lost the first two games of the American League Championship Series, had barely held a lead until the bottom of the ninth inning – played three games here on Friday evening.
Houston just needs to win Game 6 or Game 7 to win the best-of-seven series and advance to the World Series for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
“This is one of the craziest games I’ve ever played,” Altuve said on the field after the game, and he wasn’t exaggerating. The final three innings featured two lead-changing home runs, three ejections (one of which was by Houston manager Dusty Baker), a brief delay when Baker refused to leave the Astros’ dugout, and a leaping catch in the bottom of the ninth inning by a fielder, his first-ever defensive appearance in a postseason game.
“That was a huge win,” Baker said. “This will go down in history.”
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy added: “It’s just a difficult question, there’s no getting around it. It’s part of the game and something you have to deal with. And good clubs deal with it the right way, and these guys, they’ll say that’s behind them.
It seemed like the Rangers would win this emotional game after coming back against a future Hall of Famer. The Astros took a 2-1 lead early in the sixth inning, and with superstar Justin Verlander on the mound and Houston’s top relievers fully rested, they were well positioned to close out the game. But that lead evaporated within three pitches: Corey Seager doubled, Evan Carter hit a single and Adolis Garcia attacked a fastball and hit a three-run home run so far that Garcia was left standing at home plate doing his job to admire before slowly working his way to the first pitch on the baseline and swinging the bat in celebration.
Bent at the waist in amazement, Verlander greeted catcher Martin Maldonado after the end of the half-inning with a look of self-loathing and a wave of his hand to mimic how his fastball had accidentally cut in when he had intended to go outside.
The Rangers’ lead was still 4-2 when Garcia came to the plate in the eighth inning; After a walk by Carter, Bryan Abreu hit Garcia with a pitch; Garcia immediately turned around and confronted Maldonado. According to Maldonado, Garcia told him, “Why like that?”
“Like what?” Maldonado replied. Both benches became empty, with Yordan Alvarez of the Astros and others trying to hold Garcia. The referees met and decided to eject Garcia and Abreu, and when Baker heard the news, he threw his hat, screaming in disbelief, and was also ejected. For a short time, Baker refused to leave the Houston bench. Crew chief James Hoye turned to home plate umpire Marvin Hudson and said, “He’s not going.”
Baker eventually left after his hat was picked up for him, and it was his backup coach Joe Espada who officially used two pinch hitters, with both waiting near the on-deck circle while Leclerc warmed up to hit the ninth.
Leclerc came into the game early in the eighth inning looking to score a win. And he had to wait through the Garcia incident, the referee meeting, Baker’s ejection and the dugout sit-in. A lot of time had passed before Leclerc scored the ninth goal and Bochy later spoke in frustration about how long it had taken for the action to resume.
“I was concerned about this delay,” Bochy said. “I really was. It was long. It took too long to be honest. The whole thing is a load of crap to be honest with what happened. Who knows what the intentions are, but it’s not the first time.” It happened and the game couldn’t get back on track.
Leclerc later said: “I’m not used to waiting so long for another pitch, but that’s no excuse. I had to execute on my pitches and do a better job.”
Maldonado suggested after the game that the Astros may have been rattled by the scrum in the eighth inning. As Diaz and Singleton prepared to bat in the start of the ninth inning, Altuve grabbed an iPad to watch video of his previous plate appearances against Leclerc, just a reminder of Leclerc’s delivery, how he released the ball, how he put it in had thrown the ball in the past. There were no conversations or preparations necessary in Altuve’s 101st postseason game.
But Diaz hit a single and then Singleton, striking out for the first time in nearly three weeks, calmly waited six pitches without swinging or taking a walk. Altuve observed this and later said that the composed performances of the two substitutes really helped calm and calm him down.
Before the game, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman marveled at Altuve’s strength and position in some of the all-time postseason leads. In the team’s testing, Altuve has the highest jump and leg press with the highest pound-for-pound performance, and he focuses on maintaining his core in the offseason, including through disciplined eating habits. Bregman confessed that he enjoys lemonade. Altuve? Never. Thanks to that ethic, Altuve entered this game with 25 home runs in the postseason, which is second most all-time behind Manny Ramirez’s 29 in the playoffs and World Series. When it comes to the postseason, the 5-foot-10 Jose Altuve has long had a habit of attacking anything in the strike zone.
With the score at 0-1, Leclerc threw him a sub that was deep and inside, and Altuve struck. Leclerc wasn’t sure Altuve’s flight to left field would be long enough to clear the fence because he didn’t think Altuve hit the ball particularly hard. But as he watched from second base, Diaz immediately had the feeling that Altuve’s drive to left would clear the fence, because Altuve followed him at a relaxed pace, which told him: Altuve knew he was gone.
The second baseman skipped around the bases as chaotic cheers erupted in the Astros dugout. As he returned to the dugout, Altuve made eye contact with hitting coach Alex Cintron in the dugout. “Wow,” Cintron said. “You are amazing.”
This postseason, Altuve has made a point of downplaying his own performance and deflecting inquiries about his scoring and his place in postseason history like a deft hockey goaltender. But in the happy Houston dugout, among the other players, Altuve’s guard let down in his response to Cintron.
“I have 26 home runs for a reason,” Altuve said, a modest reference to his postseason home runs. “So clutch,” Bregman said.
“He has a slow heartbeat and loves big moments.” Baker said: “Firstly, he wants to be up there. Secondly, he has a high level of concentration because that’s what you need in big moments like that… I mean, this guy is one of the baddest guys I’ve ever seen.” I’ve ever seen it, and I have some great things seen.
The Astros had the lead, but in this game a lead meant nothing. Texas opened the bottom of the ninth with a single and another single. Marcus Semien hit a line drive toward shortstop, and Grae Kessinger — who had made his first-ever postseason appearance playing shortstop as a pinch-runner for Singleton early in the ninth inning — jumped into the air and caught the ball.
That was all it took to save Ryan Pressly, who coaxed Seager into a fly out before striking out Carter, and with that the Astros collectively exhaled and tumbled out of the dugout. Near second base, Altuve hugged Kessinger, and as all the Astros left the field, Baker, hatless, waited to greet them, all one step closer to becoming the first team to win two straight championships since 1998-2000 Yankees.