Jose Altuve breaks Houston Astros single-season hits record
By Jake Misener
With a 2-for-5 night Tuesday at home, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve broke the organization’s single-season hits record, bringing his season total to 211 in Houston’s 4-2 loss to Cleveland.
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Prior to Tuesday’s contest, Altuve had already joined Craig Biggio as the only other player in Houston history with more than 200 hits in a single campaign. With a one-out double in the fifth inning, the young infielder tied Biggio with his 210th base knock of the season. A single back up the middle in the seventh with a runner on first cemented Altuve’s place in organization history as Biggio looked on from the stands and the crowd applauded.
Yan Gomes collected two hits for Cleveland (77-73), and proved to be the difference, driving in a pair of runs in the contest. With the score tied 1-1 in the top of the fourth, the Indians catcher singled to left, scoring Lonnie Chisenhall. Two innings later, a two-run blast by Gomes – which proved to be the deciding blow – made it a 4-1 Cleveland advantage.
Alex Presley singled to left for Houston in the bottom of the eighth, but a late Astros rally never materialized. On a night when the fans in attendance focused on the history made by Altuve, the Astros left 10 men on base and went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Corey Kluber continued to make his case for the American League Cy Young Award, striking out 14 and allowing just one run in seven innings of work. The right-hander improved to 16-9 on the season with a 2.54 ERA. His counterpart, Nick Tropeano, allowed a pair of runs in five innings of work for Houston, falling to 1-1 on the season.
With the loss, the Astros fall to 36-40 at Minute Maid Park this season.