Altuve, in 100th playoff game, sparks Astros in G4
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jose Altuve became the seventh player in baseball history to play in 100 career postseason games on Thursday night, a product of additional rounds but also, mostly, an indication of the Houston Astros’ prolonged success.
His biggest lesson from that time?
“That in the playoffs, a lot of things can happen,” Altuve said.
The volatility is especially true now. The Astros dropped both games at home to begin this year’s American League Championship Series, spoiling a multitude of opportunities to drive in runs and making it seem as if they were no match for the scorching-hot Texas Rangers. They had reached this round for the seventh consecutive time and won it all only a year earlier, but suddenly it felt as if the Astros had run out of gas.
Then they went on the road and scored a combined 18 runs in 18 innings, tying the ALCS at two games apiece and placing the home-field advantage back in their favor.
Their latest victory, a 10-3 drubbing in Game 4 from Globe Life Park, saw Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Abreu combine to drive in eight runs from the middle of the lineup. But it also saw Altuve set the tone with three hits from the very top, the type of spark he has provided over nearly an entire season’s worth of games in October.
“It’s been an honor to be his teammate — a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame person, incredible leader every single day,” said Bregman, Altuve’s teammate over the past seven years. “From Day 1 of spring training, he shows up, works his tail off. He always has a smile on his face. He’s so nice to everyone that he comes into contact with — players, coaches, staff, people at the stadium, fans. He’s an unbelievable human being, and to be able to be his teammate, it’s been an honor. Hopefully I can be his teammate forever.”
Altuve turned on the game’s third pitch, a changeup near the middle of the strike zone from Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney, and lined it down the third-base line for a leadoff double, later scoring on Bregman’s two-run triple. The Astros scored three runs before recording the game’s first out.
After the Rangers came back to tie the score on Corey Seager’s solo home run in the third, they answered with a four-run fourth inning. They loaded the bases with none out against Dane Dunning — on back-to-back walks from Martin Maldonado and Altuve and a single from Mauricio Dubon — then scored on a 401-foot sacrifice fly from Alvarez and a 438-foot three-run homer from Abreu. In the eighth, with the game practically out of reach, Altuve hit a deep line drive to left that was initially ruled a home run but was reversed to a double after umpires consulted with replay.
It gave him 10 career three-hit games in the postseason, tied with former teammate Carlos Correa for third all time. The only ones ahead of them are longtime New York Yankees Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter with 12 apiece. A few more inches, and Altuve would have had his 26th career postseason home run. Only Manny Ramirez (29) produced more.
Altuve, 33, joined Jeter, Williams, Ramirez, Jorge Posada, David Justice and Yadier Molina as the only players to reach 100 career postseason games. Astros outfielder Chas McCormick, who also homered in Game 4, saw a similar stat on social media recently and could only shake his head.
“Just insane,” he said.
McCormick began his climb up the Astros’ minor league system when the big-league team won its first World Series championship in 2017, a title later tainted by the sign-stealing scandal. As the team began its prolonged run of success, McCormick could only hope their contention window lasted long enough for him to contribute to it. He’s now nearing the end of his third major league season, and there’s no sign of it ending any time soon.
Altuve is very much the face of that.
“He’s been the one who’s kept the window open,” McCormick said. “We’ve lost some great players.”
Altuve went 0-for-8 in the Astros’ two losses from Houston but has gone 5-for-9 in their two victories from Arlington, Texas, which is probably no coincidence.
He planned to keep the jersey from Thursday’s game and will perhaps eventually frame it — but his mind is elsewhere right now.
“Obviously it means a lot; it means the team’s been having success in the last years,” Altuve said of his 100th postseason game. “But I think the whole focus I have right now is about winning tomorrow.”
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.
Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.
A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.
The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.
Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.
Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.
“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.
Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.
Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.
Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.
Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.
“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Utah quarterback Cam Rising is a game-time decision with an injury to his throwing hand, sources told ESPN, with the expectation that he will attempt to start.
No. 12 Utah plays at No. 14 Oklahoma State on Saturday, one of the biggest games of the season in the Big 12.
Rising has been limited in practice this week with the injury, and he is not expected to be 100% if he does play. He will be monitored closely to see how his injured fingers impact how he throws. The fingers play a huge role in both spin and velocity, which will impact his effectiveness in the passing game.
He injured his hand Sept. 7 against Baylor in the second quarter when he threw a ball away and was pushed out of bounds and landed awkwardly on the water coolers on the Bears sideline.
Rising warmed up with a glove on his hand before last week’s game against Utah State but did not play, and he was spotted with two fingers wrapped on the sideline against Baylor. It’s uncertain if he will use the glove on Saturday.
Utah’s offense plays a majority of its snaps under center and uses clapping as a mechanism in its snapping operation, which would both stress the fingers.
Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson is a true freshman who made his first career start against Utah State, going 20-of-33 passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns. He took first-team reps in practice this week when Rising wasn’t out there.
Wilson is the brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who now plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.
Rising is a seventh-year senior who had emerged as one of the Pac-12’s top quarterbacks in 2021 and 2022. He has been snakebit by injuries in recent seasons, as an injury in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season ultimately led to him missing the entire 2023 season.
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