Jose Altuve hits third first-inning home run of ALCS (Video)

After a brutal case of the yips at second base this week, Jose Altuve redeemed himself in the batters box in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Jose Altuve has had a brutal 24 hours. In Game 3 of the ALCS, Altuve committed his third fielding error in two games against the Tampa Bay Rays, proving he is dealing with a serious case of the yips. Even though baseball commentators echoed “you have to feel for the guy,” Altuve didn’t exactly garner much sympathy considering the team was proven guilty of illegally stealing signs in the 2017 MLB season. While Altuve has been terrible in the field, he’s been consistent in the batters box, as evident on Thursday evening.

In Game 4 of the ALCS, Altuve took a 100.4 mph four-seam fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and sent it into the vacant left-center field seats to give Houston the early 1-0 lead. This is now the third home run that Atluve hit a first-inning home run this series.

No yips at the plate for Altuve

With this bomb, Altuve now holds 18-career home runs in the postseason, which is an Astros franchise record. This also puts the second baseman in elite company, as he is tied with Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson for fifth on the all-time postseason home runs list.

The Astros (specifically Carlos Correa) talked smack throughout their run to the Championship Series, despite their less-than impressive 2020 regular-season. Altuve had to live with the criticism these past two days for his errors in the infield, but it appears he’s taken out that frustration on the baseball.