After going 0-for-5 Thursday against the Indians, Jose Altuve found himself with a .306/.357/.403 slash line that was certainly not worth being embarrassed about but also wasn’t up to the standard of the reigning AL MVP. When Altuve began Friday’s game 0-for-3, his numbers dropped further.
Since then, it’s safe to say things have turned around. Here were Altuve’s next 10 at-bats:
- Eighth inning Friday — two-run double off Andrew Miller
- Ninth inning Friday — double off Oliver Drake
- First inning Saturday — single off Carlos Carrasco
- Third inning Saturday — two-run home run off Carlos Carrasco
- Fifth inning Saturday — single off Carlos Carrasco
- Seventh inning Saturday — triple off Zach McCallister
- First inning Sunday — single off Trevor Bauer
- Fourth inning Sunday — single off Trevor Bauer
- Sixth inning Sunday — RBI double off Trevor Bauer
- Eighth inning Sunday — RBI single off Evan Marshall
That’s 10-for-10 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBIs. With seven of the hits coming off Andrew Miller, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, all of whom really know how to pitch.
Altuve’s 10 consecutive hits broke the Astros record of eight and nearly matched Walt Dropo’s all-time record of 12, set in 1952.
.@JoseAltuve27 has recorded 9 hits in his last 9 plate appearances.
That’s an @Astros record. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/wX9TPKatp1
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) May 27, 2018
The streak ended in the ninth inning Sunday when Altuve lined out against Josh Tomlin, but by that point the damage had very much been done. Altuve’s 10th consecutive hit, in the eighth inning Sunday, tied the Astros and Indians at three runs apiece, and three batters later the score was 8-3 Houston.
By the end of the ninth inning Sunday, before an Indians comeback forced extras, Altuve’s slash line had risen to .332/.378/.469, not quite in line with his MVP output (.346/.410/.547) but pretty damn good nonetheless. That’s what a 10-for-10 streak will do for you.
