Altuve's game-changing homer a huge swing in momentum for Astros

BOSTON -- After homering on July 12 to move into a tie with Jimmy Wynn for fourth all-time in Astros history with 223 homers, Jose Altuve went 81 at-bats before his next blast.

But he made No. 224 count.

With one out in the seventh inning of Friday’s series opener at Fenway Park, Altuve sent a 1-1 sweeper over the Green Monster for a game-tying two-run homer in an eventual 8-4 win. Altuve’s blast breathed life into the Houston cohort and sparked a rally for the Astros, who went on to score two more runs in the frame after back-to-back RBI singles from Jon Singleton and Jeremy Peña.

“There's something about Jose [in a] big moment, where he raises to that level,” manager Joe Espada said. “He wants to be at that level. He wants to be the guy in the moment. And that's how everything starts, you’ve got to believe that you can come through for your team. And you see Jose just getting big swings over and over again.

“Trust me, I don't get tired of them, and I will never get tired of watching him get big swings. He's just a player that is meant for big spots.”

Altuve’s absence of power from July 12 until Friday was not accompanied by a lack of production. Over that 20-game span, Altuve hit .291 with a .356 on-base percentage.

A 14-year veteran, Altuve is no stranger to midseason slumps or stretches like the one he just endured in which his power ticks down. Was the homer drought on his mind each time he stepped to the plate?

While Altuve said he’d be “lying if [he] said, ‘No,’” he understands that sticking to his approach will eventually yield the results that have led him to nine All-Star selections, three batting titles, an MVP and six Silver Slugger Awards.

“I’ve been working on it, been working on trying to drive the ball again,” Altuve said. “I know I’ve been getting on base, but not hitting for power. But homers, I think they are like any other hit in baseball. They come in [bunches] and you don’t get any for two months, and then you hit again. So hopefully that’s one of many to come for me in the second half.”

Altuve has been a thorn in Boston’s side since facing the club for the first time in 2013. Entering Friday’s series opener, he owned a .312 average with 15 homers and 39 RBIs across 311 at-bats vs. the Red Sox between the regular season and postseason.

Altuve was responsible for the first run of the game after scoring on a Yordan Alvarez groundout in the first inning. Alvarez, who homered in consecutive games against Texas in the previous series, went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the ninth. The 27-year-old slugger was intentionally walked for the 12th time this season in the fifth, tying him with Aaron Judge for most in the Majors.

As the batter who Boston walked Alvarez to get to, Yainer Diaz was retired on a groundout to end the fifth inning. But the catcher got his revenge with a 448-foot two-run homer off lefty Cam Booser in the ninth. A chance to give his team insurance, made possible by Altuve’s big moment earlier -- a sort of baton-passing that this Astros’ lineup does so well.

“Obviously, he tied the game there, so he just gave us a new fresh breath of air,” Diaz said through interpreter Jenloy Herrera. “Gave us a little bit more hope and we’re able to take advantage of it later. I said it there like, ‘Hey Altuve, hit a home run!’ And bam, he hit it.”

In addition to the immediate impact it had on the game, Altuve took time to appreciate the significance of his seventh-inning swing and his place in franchise history.

“It means a lot,” Altuve said. “The Houston Astros have been around for a long time, and to be able to play for this organization and hit that many homers, it’s just an amazing [feeling].”

But Altuve won’t let himself get comfortable at No. 4.

“I think I’m fourth right now, but Yordan [151 in 592 games] will pass me, really quickly,” Altuve said. “He’s coming in hot.”