HOUSTON -- José Altuve doesn't argue many calls, but Saturday night's 3-2 loss to the Rangers was an exception.
After striking out looking in the bottom of the seventh with the Astros trailing, 2-1, the All-Star second baseman took umbrage with home-plate umpire Alan Porter's strike zone, and Altuve's arguing got him ejected from a game for the first time in his career.
"He never argues unless he's right," manager A.J. Hinch said, "and he was right, in my opinion."
Entering Saturday, Altuve led the American League in batting average (.357) and hits (153), while ranking second in on-base percentage (.424), total bases (245), bWAR (6.3) and OPS (.997).
"He knows the strike zone as well as anybody, and he didn't appreciate the call," Hinch said. "I think he took matters into his own hands. I certainly think it symbolizes how important these games are, how much we're grinding mentally and physically to try and get the momentum back in our direction."