The Astros second baseman notched up his third throwing error of the ACLS and his fourth as a whole in this postseason as the Astros lost 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays and now face being swept in the series.
In Game 2, Altuve bounced two throws to first baseman Yuli Gurriel from shallow right field. The first of those two mistakes came in the first inning and allowed the Rays to load the bases, before Manuel Margot hit a three-run homer the Astros never recovered from.
Altuve began Game 3 in style, smashing a 355-feet home run to give the Astros a one-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, but any hopes he would go on to make amends for two mistakes in Game 2 quickly evaporated in the top of the sixth inning.
With the Rays still scoreless, Randy Arozarena on first base and no outs to begin Tampa Bay’s sixth inning, Altuve cleanly fielded a ball Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe had grounded to his left. When his throw came in to second base, the ball bounced several feet in front of shortstop Carlos Correa and squirted into left field.
While the error didn’t lead to a run being scored, it allowed Arozarena to move onto second base and Lowe to reach first. The impact of Altuve’s mistake was further exacerbated when Yandy Diaz singled to load the bases, before both Arozarena and Lowe scored after Joey Wendle singled. Kevin Kiermaier and Willy Adames were both hit by pitches, allowing the Rays to load the bases again and force in a third run, before pinch hitter Hunter Renfroe completed the five-run burst with a two-run homer.
The Astros found themselves in a 5-1 hole at the beginning of their sixth inning and never recovered, managing to add a single run in the next three innings. While only the Rays earned four of the five runs they scored in their rally, Altuve’s error started a miserable sequence of events for the Astros.
Throughout his career, the former Golden Glove winner had made just one throwing error in 47 postseason games up until this season. He has now racked up three in the last two games and coming as it did on the back of two mistakes in Game 2, Altuve’s error on Tuesday night led to questions over whether he may have a case of the yips—a condition that affects players who suddenly and seemingly inexplicably, can no longer throw the ball to their intended targets.
“I don’t know,” Astros manager Dusty Baker was quoted as saying by ESPN.
“I really don’t know. It is tough to see this happening to such a great player and such a great guy. I don’t know what it is called. But you can go in a defensive slump the same way you go in an offensive slump, and then the physical turns mental. We certainly have to get past this.”
Baker conceded the sixth inning had been a “nightmare” but insisted the Astros remained firmly behind their star.
“We’re giving him all the support that we can,” he added. “Nobody feels worse than Jose. He takes it very seriously, and he takes it to heart. He’s one of ours, and we’ve all been through this before. Maybe not in the spotlight like this. It hurts us all to see him hurting.”
