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They were professional valleys for both players, even if Jose Altuve has 12 seasons and eight All-Star honors to his name, and Framber Valdez is still crafting his career narrative.
And Saturday night was the perfect time for Altuve and Valdez emerged from their darkest times to save the Houston Astros in this World Series.
In danger of dropping the first two games at home to the ever-resistant Philadelphia Phillies, Altuve jumped the visitors on the very first offering from ace Zack Wheeler, setting off a first-pitch, first-inning lightning bolt that handed Valdez a healthy lead. And then the Astros’ lefty spun the Phillies into submission, dominating them with his curveball to take a shutout into the seventh inning.
By night’s end, the Astros had registered a 5-2 victory to square this Series 1-1, a major burden lifted after Philadelphia erased a five-run deficit for a 6-5, 10-inning Game 1 win.
It was a shameful collapse for a franchise playing in its fourth World Series in six years. But they evened things up in a hurry as two of their most indispensable players recovered from their own foibles.
For Altuve, October heroics are expected. He has 29 career multi-hit postseason games, which made his 0 for 25 skid – the worst hitless run of his career – to start these playoffs all the more startling. He was still just 3 for 37 entering Game 2, none of the hits of the well-struck variety.
That changed in an instant.
Altuve wailed on Wheeler’s first pitch, shipping a 96-mph sinker to left field for a double, his first extra-base hit to the pull side this postseason. And a pattern was quickly established.
No. 2 hitter Jeremy Peña: First-pitch curveball, RBI double.
No. 3 hitter Yordan Alvarez: First-pitch fastball fouled off, followed by another swing on a slider, knocking it the opposite way off the left field wall for another RBI double.
