Jose Altuve Keeps Adding to His Legacy in Astros’ Record Books

The Houston Astros got a very important piece back in their starting lineup Friday night in superstar Jose Altuve. Altuve had an injury scare earlier in the week, but it turned out he just had a bruised foot. In his first game back after being considered day-to-day, the Astros legend made sure everyone knew his foot was fine.

Altuve collected his first hit of the game against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the fifth inning, knocking a single into left field. The first two batters of the inning recorded an out, so Altuve took matters into his own hands, stealing second with Daulton Varsho standing in the batter's box.

Varsho would wait patiently for the perfect pitch, but would never see it, resulting in a walk. But the bigger story was that stealing second base wasn't enough for Altuve, as he swiped third as well. Unfortunately, Houston couldn't add to their lead, but Altuve showed the fans in attendance that the veteran can still move.

Altuve entered the game with two stolen bases on the season, which he doubled in one inning.

History Books Are Filled with Altuve's Name

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) hits a single. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With those two stolen bases, Altuve moved further ahead of Jose Cruz in the all-time Astros stolen base rankings, where Altuve is ranked third with 329 swipes. Cruz ended his career with 288 stolen bases. There are other top-three-to-top-five category rankings for Altuve in Astros franchise history books.

Across other categories in Houston Astros franchise history, Altuve ranks fourth in home runs (268), third in doubles (470), fifth in runs batted in (924), and second in hits (2478), just to name a few. When it's all said and done, the Astros will know who one of the most influential players in franchise history is.

Nowadays, a major part of Altuve's game is unpredictability. Sure, he's got a ton of stolen bases in his career, but after a foot injury, the Mariners surely had no idea that Altuve would be on the move, let alone do it twice in the same inning. The best of the best get things done, regardless of how it happens.

Late Game Recap

Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu (52) throws to the plate. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That statement rings true for the entire Houston roster, as the lead began to get slim in the later innings against one of their AL West rivals. Seattle closed the gap from 5-3 to 5-4 in the top of the eighth following a leadoff walk from Bryan Abreu.

The Astros' lead went away, however, as the Mariners tied the game in the top of the eighth thanks to a Cal Raleigh walk, a Victor Robles bunt, and a ground-rule double from rookie Brock Rodden.

But thankfully, though the Mariners took the lead in the top of the 10th, the Astros came from behind with a walk-off home run from Christian Walker. Houston improves to 63-60.

Add us as a preferred source on Google