Fans mocked Jose Altuve after his brutal swinging strikeout against Shohei Ohtani at Daikin Park on Tuesday night. The Houston Astros responded in game 2 last night with a 2-1 victory, tying the three-game series at 1-1 after the Los Angeles Dodgers took the first game 8-3 on Monday night.
With two outs and a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Ohtani threw a sharp slider to Altuve, whose path was over the left-handed batter’s box, as Altuve was beaten on all counts, striking out swinging. The home crowd reacted in shock at what they had just witnessed.
“Safe to say they are no longer cheating in Houston,” one fan commented.
“He should have thrown the bat at it,” another fan commented.
“Looks more like 7 Altuves it’s about 5 feet off the plate,” yet another fan commented.
Other fans voiced their disappointment with Altuve’s hitting stats and consistency at the plate this season.
“Altuve is in a terrible funk, I don’t think he could hit a watermelon right now,” one fan commented.
“I haven’t bet on him once this season but this enough evidence for the rest of season ban list,” another fan commented.
“Then he strikes out watching a ball straight down the middle of the zone. Dude won’t get to 3000 hits,” yet another fan commented.
The Venezuelan 2B finished the game 0-4, with solo home runs from Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake making the difference, following Peter Lambert’s seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Ohtani only pitched today, as he was not in the batting lineup.
Jose Altuve’s Cold Stretch Is a Worrying Sign for the Astros
After a 0-for-3 start on Opening Day, Altuve seemed to regain his form for the following 10 games. He only hit two home runs early on, both in the same game, but was batting .378/.531/649 through Game 1 of the series in Colorado after going 3 for 5.
While he has had some bright moments since then, they haven’t been frequent enough. In the 21 games from that day through Sunday, his stat line has been discouraging to read at .193/.237/.284.
The Venezuelan player’s strikeout percentage has risen when comparing the first 11 games to the last 21 of the season. Currently, his hitting metrics are not encouraging, with projections of only 13 home runs and 39 RBIs based on his current performance.
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