The Houston Astros are now 5-0 in the 2022 MLB postseason after defeating the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 2 of the NLCS. Everything has been clicking for the Astros in terms of pitching, timely hits and great defense.
Everything except one thing: second baseman José Altuve.
The face of Houston’s franchise is now 0-for-23 after Thursday night’s performance. It’s not ideal for an Astros offense looking for more at the dish, especially when Altuve is their leadoff hitter.
Yes, he is still a stellar defender and Houston’s pitching staff has been able to pick up the lineup who has averaged four runs per game this postseason. But, at some point if the Astros want to continue to find consistent success, then Altuve will need to get going at the plate.
However, it’s not time to panic just yet. This is an outlier for the second baseman who has a career slashline of .267/.343/.510 and an OPS+ of 176 over the course of 84 postseason games.
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Additionally, he finished off the last month of the regular season with a 1.058 OPS. So it isn’t as if he was showing signs of entering into a slump such as the one he experienced in April of this season.
Altuve is too talented, too postseason proven and has found himself too unlucky in multiple instances this postseason to remain this unproductive for much longer.
Now is not the time to start panicking. Altuve’s time to shine is just around the corner.
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