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HOUSTON — Astros second baseman Jose Altuve notably endured a lengthy hitless skid to open the 2022 postseason, going 0-for-25 before finally breaking through for a double in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. He got it going at the plate as Houston marched to its second World Series championship, but Altuve did not record an RBI for the first time in seven postseasons.
It took only one at-bat — and one pitch — to get Altuve’s first hit and RBI of the 2023 postseason out of the way.
Altuve got the Astros started off on the right foot by hammering the first pitch he saw from Twins starter Bailey Ober for a Statcast-projected 377 feet to the train tracks in left field, sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy during Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.
His 24 postseason homers trail only Manny Ramirez (29). Altuve’s 104 hits are the fourth most in postseason history. Only Ramirez (117), Bernie Williams (128) and Derek Jeter (200) have more.
Altuve’s leadoff blast was the third in Astros postseason history, joining George Springer in Game 5 of the 2020 ALCS and Craig Biggio in Game 7 of the ’04 NLCS.
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