NEW YORK -- If not in Houston, where else would Jose Altuve hit his 250th career home run but at Yankee Stadium?
The Astros star -- notorious as they come in the Bronx -- climbed to the plate in the first inning of Sunday’s game, showered by the usual chorus of boos. Just as he did on Friday, Altuve jumped on the first pitch. Before the Bleacher Creatures could finish their patented roll call, Altuve sent a fastball from Max Fried over the left-field wall for a solo shot.
The milestone home run got the Astros off on the right foot in the series finale. Jason Alexander followed with six innings of one-hit ball as Houston completed a nine-game, three-city road trip with a crisp 7-1 victory in the Bronx.
The Astros head home at 66-52, still in front of the Mariners atop the American League West.
“We came here knowing that we played a good team, and winning two out of three is huge,” Altuve said.
Altuve was a focal point, as usual. He became the 11th second baseman in MLB history to hit 250 career home runs (min. 50% of games at second base). The illustrious group is headlined by four Hall of Famers -- Rogers Hornsby, Joe Gordon, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg.
“It’s incredible what he does and how frequently he does it,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “And it comes at the biggest moments of the game.”
It sure seems to come against the Yankees, too. Altuve, a nine-time All-Star, has 19 career home runs against the Bombers, tied for his fifth most against any team, including the postseason. He helped the Astros eliminate the Yankees in the postseason four times, most memorably with his walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman to send Houston to the World Series in 2019.
Altuve relishes the moment. As Carlos Correa suggested on Friday, perhaps opposing fans would be best off creating a mundane Spring Training-style environment, because the boos aren’t working: Altuve has now hit nine home runs at Yankee Stadium in his career.
“To come out swinging like that, it’s a lot of momentum,” said rookie Cam Smith.
Altuve finished the day 2-for-3 with two walks, reaching base in four of his five plate appearances. He helped chase Fried after just five innings, as Houston tagged the All-Star left-hander for four runs on 95 pitches in a laborious outing.
“I thought our at-bats overall were great,” Espada said. “The bottom of our order did a really good job setting the tone for the top of our order. We got some big hits. We got production from everyone.”
That’s another positive sign for an Astros lineup that is starting to look whole again. Correa tallied two more hits, including a ninth-inning home run. Jesús Sánchez had a gritty at-bat in the fifth inning, working the count full in a left-on-left matchup before getting hit by a pitch. Smith, hitting just .145 since the All-Star break, followed with a two-strike double that plated a pair.
“The guys are starting to talk about, as a unit, what it takes to win ballgames,” Espada said.
On Sunday, that effort began with Alexander. The 32-year-old knew he had a no-hitter intact when he took the mound to begin the sixth inning, but he tried not to think about it.
“I don’t want to get too caught up in it,” said Alexander, recalling his mindset. “Even in the sixth inning, it’s a lot of baseball, a long way to go. I’m not worried about a no-hitter. I just want to make sure our team wins.”
Alexander put the Astros in an excellent position to do so, allowing just one hit -- an opposite-field single from Ben Rice in the sixth inning. Alexander has combined to throw 12 scoreless innings while allowing just four hits across his past two starts.
“What a road trip for Jason Alexander,” Espada said. “... He’s not afraid of going after hitters. Just makes all his pitches, any time in the count. He stays calm. Two big wins.”
Sunday’s game carried a different tenor than the previous two nights, which resembled playoff environments. A crowd of 43,658 didn’t have much to cheer about -- not after Altuve sent the fourth pitch of the game into the left-field seats, not with Alexander mowing down the opposition.
“We’re feeling good as a team,” Altuve said. “It seems like everything is clicking together.”