The Astros, and Their Star Player, Get Back on Track
The New York Times
Jose Altuve broke out of a slump, setting the tone in a crucial Game 2 win that tied the World Series as it heads to Atlanta.
HOUSTON — When Jose Altuve stepped to the plate to start the bottom of the first inning in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night, he was 3 for 29 since the start of the American League Championship Series. That included an 0-for-5 performance in the World Series opener against Atlanta on Tuesday.
There was no hiding the ugliness, not that Altuve would have tried. As the leadoff hitter for a Houston Astros franchise stained by its 2017-2018 cheating scandal, Altuve has learned this season, with fans back in stadiums, that he cannot hide. He has been the primary target of rival fans all year. He can do nothing but keep his head down, take it and keep plowing forward.
So when he plastered a Max Fried fastball into left field for a double in Game 2, and followed that by sending a Drew Smyly fastball over the left-field wall in the seventh inning to punctuate Houston’s 7-2 series-evening win, it was as if the Astros were welcoming back an old friend.
