Astros' Altuve homers in first 3 at-bats against Rangers, gets 4 in a row overall
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, center, celebrates with the team in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jose Altuve homered in his first three at-bats for the Houston Astros against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, starting with a pair off Nathan Eovaldi in the All-Star right-hander's return from the injured list.
Houston's star second baseman greeted Eovaldi with a leadoff homer, then ended his outing with a one-out homer in the second.
Altuve's third homer — and 15th of the season — came in the third off Dane Dunning, a starter who came out of the bullpen so the Rangers could get Eovaldi his first start since July 18. Eovaldi had been sidelined by a right forearm strain.
Altuve had homered in four consecutive at-bats going back to Houston's 13-6 win in the series opener Monday. The run ended with a groundout against Dunning in the fifth.
Altuve homered twice in the series opener, giving him consecutive multi-homer games for the first time in his career.
Altuve is the first Houston player with consecutive multi-homer games since Richard Hidalgo in 2000.
The Astros had back-to-back homers from the No. 9 and leadoff hitters twice in the series opener with Mauricio Dubón and Altuve.
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, left, follows through on a solo home run as Texas Rangers' Jonah Heim looks on in the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Tony Gutierrez
They did it again Wednesday with Martín Maldonado homering from the bottom of the order in the third, followed by Altuve for a 9-0 lead. Houston scored three runs in each of the first three innings.
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