Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker hit the bat after hitting a popup one-out on the seventh entry of the 9-5 win on Friday night against the A’s in Oakland, frustrated at missing an RBI opportunity with teammate Jose Altuve on third base.
As A’s shortstop, Elvis Andrus, moved to the right side, deflected and routinely caught the pop-up about 10 feet beyond the dirt of the infield in the shallow right, Altuve caught him off guard. Andrus paused for a moment before realizing that Altuve was returning home, sliding safely ahead of Andrus’ bid for despair.
That’s right, Altuve scored on a sacrificial fly … for the shortstop.
The rushed game, which left Tucker with an unexpected RBI and gave the Astros a 6-2 lead, had Altuve and his teammates grinning from ear to ear. Altuve achieved in his first four plate appearances on Friday as the starting hitter – a role that George Springer has maintained for the previous five seasons.
Altuve’s sprint speed from the third home was 30.4 feet per second, according to Statcast, which means he was flying. A sprint speed of 30 feet per second is considered elite (27 is the MLB average).
With just two games in the season, the Astros are playing with the kind of excitement and excitement – as Altuve’s mad race home indicated – that was absent last year, when they worked hard for a 29-31 record in the regular season. . Altuve had the worst year of his career on the board, but got off to a quick and energetic start in 2021.
Altuve’s race in the seventh – one of the four he scored on Friday – was the difference in the game before the Astros hit the ninth and scored three runs to open the game.