HOUSTON -- Under sun-soaked skies during an unseasonably cool afternoon for this territory, Jose Altuve stepped into the batter’s box at Minute Maid Park and asked an empty stadium for answers.

Mired in the worst rut of his postseason career, hitless in all three games to begin these playoffs, Altuve took live batting practice during Tuesday’s workout ahead of the American League Championship Series, a sight as rare at this time of year as the low-60s temperatures in Southeast Texas.

Yet, in Altuve’s mind, the extra work was necessary. One of his generation’s best players in largest part for his hot streaks at this time of year, Altuve has been in an unseasonably frigid stretch, going 0-for-16 in the ALDS against the Mariners, including 0-for-8 in ALDS Game 3, the 18-inning marathon that Houston survived.

What, in his mind, gives?

“I wasn’t focused on getting my pitch, and that’s what I worked on in the season and all season long and what has worked for me,” Altuve said. “And I didn’t do that in these first three games.”

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It’s not just that Altuve has lacked results, it’s that he’s looked completely out of whack in the process, and the Mariners exploited it throughout by virtually throwing everything out of the zone when it became clear that he’d chase. The formula was explicit -- fastballs way inside on his hands and breaking balls way off the plate -- and it worked to perfection.

The most glaring example was Altuve’s swinging strikeout against two fastballs in Game 3, one from George Kirby and the other from Paul Sewald, that were each at least four inches above the zone. Throughout last week, strike two could’ve essentially been strike three given the way he was chasing.

Altuve has always had chase in his swing -- he ranked in the 55th percentile this year, per Statcast, the best of his career -- yet that detriment also makes him one of the game’s best hitters because he’s always on the attack, and as such, one of the most uncomfortable at-bats. Ten of his 28 homers came on the first pitch in the regular season, an MLB high, and he had a .368/.385/.755 (1.140 OPS) slash line in 0-0 counts.

“I’m the kind of guy to stay positive, calm, no matter what the situation is,” Altuve said. “I like to go out there and play my game, regardless of the result.”

Every hitter’s process is different, but the approach becomes more dissected when the struggles are more pronounced. Altuve’s longest drought is 0-for-19, both of the postseason (his final 19 at-bats of the 2015 ALDS) and the regular season, from Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2018, when he was playing through a patella avulsion fracture in his right knee that required offseason surgery. He’s come a long way from both.

“The mentally strong have a way of dealing with the down times,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “We just have to increase concentration and focus. And when you're in a downward spiral, man, sometimes it's hard to get out. I don't care who you are. But I'm expecting big things out of Altuve -- because he expects big things out of himself.”

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Altuve had never taken more than seven at-bats in a game before, let alone had nothing to show for it. Only one other player in postseason history has gone hitless with that many at-bats in a single game, Boston’s Xander Bogaerts during the historic 2018 World Series Game 3 that went 18 innings.

But enough about the unflattering superlatives. The Astros were able to overcome Altuve’s struggles because of the contributors behind him, underscoring the depth of Houston’s lineup.

“I think it says a lot,” right fielder Kyle Tucker said. “We don't have to rely on one person. If someone's struggling, there's always eight guys behind him that can go up there and do the job. ... But I'm not worried about Jose at all. He'll come around.”

Catcher Martín Maldonado was even more blunt, saying: “You think that’s a slump? A couple bad games, I would say. I don’t consider that a slump. That guy has always been able to hit a baseball. Just a couple bad games.”

The trust in Altuve is built on his pedigree -- particularly in the postseason, where his 23 homers rank second all-time, trailing only Manny Ramirez’s 29, and 80 games played trail among active players only Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, who just retired.

If there’s anyone who can snap out of a funk lickety split, it’s Altuve.

“I’ve been working on my pitch zone, staying in the zone and staying confident,” Altuve said. “It’s a new series and we start from zero and that’s a good thing.”