Jose Altuve is the man of the hour in Houston. The diminutive second baseman hit a walk off 2 run HR off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 of the ALCS to give the Astros their 2nd AL pennant in three years.
The victory did not come easy for the Astros. After taking a 3-0 lead in the 1st on a three run HR by Yuli Gurriel, the Yankees chipped away on a single by Gary Sanchez in the 2nd and a solo HR by Gio Urshela in the 4th. The Astros took a 4-2 lead in the 6th on a fielder's choice by Alex Bregman. But with one out in the 9th, D.J. LeMahieu hit a game tying HR off Astros' closer Roberto Osuna.
But the Astros did not panic even after Chapman struck out Martin Maldonado and got Josh Reddick to pop out to third. George Springer worked a walk and then Altuve did his magic. Altuve, who was the 2017 AL MVP, earned the 2019 ALCS MVP. Altuve went 8 for 23 (.348) with 2 HR and 3 RBIs.
The Astros will host the Washington Nationals in the 2019 World Series beginning Tuesday night. Given the Nats will have had a one week layoff, I'm picking the Astros in six.
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