Astros star Jose Altuve hit 3 home runs in 3 innings in big win over Rangers
José Altuve went on a wild home run Tuesday night.
The Houston Astros star, after hitting a home run in his last game Monday night, shook off three homers to start the Astros’ 14-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. That gave Altuve four consecutive home runs, five in a 12-inning period.
Altuve is the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to hit three home runs in the first three innings of a game. Manny Machado was the last to do so in 2016 when he was with the Baltimore Orioles. Mike Cameron did it in 2002 with the Seattle Mariners, and Carl Reynolds was the first player to achieve the feat in 1930 with the Chicago White Sox. Altuve is also the first player in the expansion era to hit four consecutive home runs in four innings, According to MLB’s Sarah Lang.
Altuve started the night with a first-inning solo shot to left by Rangers starter Nathan Iovaldi, who lasted less than two innings on the mound.
José Abreu and Alex Bregman hit RBI singles in the first to put the Astros up 3-0 outright.
Altuve then hit a solo home run in the second inning to roughly the same spot as the first.
Martín Maldonado hit a two-run home run in the third, giving the Astros an eight-run lead. Altuve followed it up with his third and final home run of the night with a 426-foot shot to center field.
It marked the fourth straight home run and the fifth in the past two days.
Altuve hit home runs in the sixth and ninth of the Astros’ 13-6 win over the Rangers Monday night. His home runs in that match followed the hosts out both times from Mauricio Dupont, who was battling for last place.
Dupont hit an RBI double in the seventh inning for Houston Tuesday night, then Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez hit two home runs to close out the inning and put the Astros up 14-1. They finished the night with 20 hits as a team and hit 11 home runs in two days. Framper Valdez had four hits and allowed six hits in his seven innings pitched on the mound for Houston.
Altuve entered the night batting . 316 with 36 RBI. He now has 15 home runs this season, which is his 13th in Houston.
The Astros have won seven of their past 10 games, and the only losses have come in three-game sweeps by the New York Yankees. They hold a 79-61 record, putting them a game ahead of the Seattle Mariners and giving them their first lead of the season in the AL West. The Rangers are now two games behind the Astros in the division.
