On Wednesday night, the Houston Astros evened the World Series at one game apiece after beating the Atlanta Braves, 7-2, in Game 2. Jose Altuve made the clutch hits for the Astros, who scored at least five runs for the 10th time this postseason.
Altuve put his postseason struggles behind him in Game 2, going 2-for-5 with a home run. His dinger in the seventh inning was his 22nd career homer in the playoffs, tying him with New York Yankees star center fielder Bernie Williams for second-most all-time in the postseason. Altuve is just seven homers shy of the record set by Boston Red Sox great Manny Ramirez.
Altuve breaks out of slump in Game 2
Before his explosion in Game 2, Altuve was hitting just .178 in this postseason. The Astros hope this is the start of Altuve's resurgence as they badly need his production at the top of the order. Altuve got the party started with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning. He went on to score the game's first run on Alex Bregman's sacrifice fly.
However, the Braves responded immediately, with Travis d'Arnaud hitting a solo homer in the top of the second inning to even the score at 1-1. The Astros broke the game wide open in the bottom half of that inning, peppering Max Fried with a barrage of singles. Jose Siri, Martin Maldonado, and Michael Brantley each recorded RBI singles as the Astros opened up a 5-1 lead after two innings.
That run support was more than enough for the Astros pitchers, who allowed just two runs the entire evening. Jose Urquidy was superb for the Astros, allowing just two runs on six hits in five innings with seven strikeouts. He became just the fourth Astros pitcher to issue seven strikeouts and no walks in a World Series game, joining Verlander, Morton, and Backe in that exclusive list.
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Urquidy delivers again in World Series
Urquidy's performance was not a complete surprise as he also pitched well in his last World Series appearance in 2019. With the Astros trailing 2-1 in their series against the Washington Nationals, Urquidy pitched a gem in Game 4, allowing just two baserunners over five shutout innings. Urquidy rewarded Dusty Baker's faith in him after he pitched poorly in his last start against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.
Action now shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 of the World Series. Temperatures for the much-anticipated three-game set are expected to be in the low 50s. Starting for Atlanta in that pivotal contest is Ian Anderson. He goes into Game 3 with a 3-0 slate and a solid 1.47 ERA in 30 2/3 postseason innings. The Astros will counter with rookie Luis Garcia as their starter.
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