José Altuve completes ‘sweep’ of the Astros by 8-2 against the Rockies

Mexico City. A classic hero is one who overcomes difficulties. Venezuelan José Altuve rebelled against the disadvantage of his height in the Major Leagues and produced a phenomenon in baseball. Yesterday, on a peaceful Sunday at Magdalena Mixiuhca, the little slugger was heroic in more ways than one in the Houston Astros’ 8-2 sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the series of games in Mexico City 2024. The The little ballplayer not only had two hits in four at-bats, an almost artistic touch and a home run, but he also drove in one and left out three rivals.

Photo María Luisa Severiano/ La Jornada

There are short players who claim that there is a before and after of the phenomenon that this Venezuelan represented. “I don’t think so,” Altuve responds when asked; “I think everyone has their own thing and it’s just about playing ball well.” From his debut in 2011 until last season, he led the Major Leagues with a .310 batting average, 1,819 hits, 200 home runs and 292 stolen bases. A true phenomenon.

Altuve is a spectacle compressed into 1.65 meters tall. Like a true showman, he begins his Sunday odyssey with a touch of the ball, one of those that were seen more frequently in the past. That’s just the beginning: he takes advantage of his teammate’s next shift to reach second. Then he steals third, the third baseman fields poorly, but the Venezuelan is distracted and does not listen to the indication that he could sweep home while the public tears their hair at the carelessness of his star. But then a sacrifice out allows him a hit and run and he arrives beaten in the clay as a dramatic outcome. Altuve arrives at home plate like Ulysses who returns to his Ithaca transformed into another man. A complete story in a single entry and it is only the first. Infected by the Venezuelan’s epic, Kyle Tucker took the ball out of the park to contribute another run.

The Rockies looked fragile again. By the eighth inning they could not get closer to the Astros who had a 4-2 lead. Colorado reliever Jake Bird seemed to use that malicious resource of pitchers who want to intimidate hitters: throwing very close to the body. And those projectiles that average 90 miles per hour hit Víctor Caratini in the knee and Sunday hero José Altuve in the elbow. The result was an Alex Bregman RBI single that brought in another run. But nothing was as exciting as the sixth run that Altuve scored – the third to the eighth – thanks to a sacrifice out. This was the fateful inning for the Rockies: Yainer Díaz hit a double that produced a couple more runs for Houston. The score was frozen at 8-2.