Altuve Rocks

George Springer and Yordan Álvarez struck solo home runs before José Altuve sent the game out of reach with a mammoth three-run shot in the fifth, propelling the Astros to a 6-2 series-clinching win on Sunday at Busch Stadium.
Altuve and Springer each finished with three hits, pacing a 13-knock barrage. They teamed to salt the game away during the fifth, when Houston held just a tenuous two-run lead.

Starter Wade Miley worked a leadoff walk and Springer scalded a double down the third-base line to begin the frame. Altuve arrived and annihilated Dakota Hudson's 2-2 slider for the 1,500th hit of his career. Altuve reached the threshold in 1,190 games — the fastest Astro to ever. He bested Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell by 174 games.

Miley managed five innings of scoreless baseball, but was anything but efficient. He required 97 pitches to finish five frames, allowing a base runner in all but one inning. The southpaw stranded eight runners, including four in scoring position. Three of his six strikeouts came while a Cardinal occupied scoring position.

 Occasions to appreciate the breadth of Jose Altuve’s baseball mastery are rare. He deflects talk surrounding almost all of his innumerable individual accomplishments. The grind of a 162-game season takes precedence.