January 12, 2025

WATCH: Astros’ Jose Altuve sticks it to Yankees, heckling fans with 3-run homer | ‘The villain wins sometimes!’

Altuve #Altuve

Jose Altuve, a face of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing cheating scandal, was heckled for three days during his first visit to Yankee Stadium since his team busted by MLB.

Yankees fans got out the former MVP nonstop until finding a way to quiet them.

With the game on the line Thursday, Altuve hit a three-run, eighth-inning homer off Yankees reliever Chad Green to turn a 3-2 Houston deficit into a 5-3 lead.

Fans booed Altuve as he circled the bases, then got really quiet for the first time in three days.

“The villain wins sometimes in WWE, right?’ Yankees color analyst David Cone said on the YES broadcast. “They don’t’ always lose.â€

Altuve hit the game-changing home run on his 31st birthday, giving him a two-hit day and three hits in 12 at-bats for the series.

Here are Yankees’ game notes from the media relation’s department:

GET THE BROOMS OUT: The Yankees are looking to record their second straight series sweep on Thursday. With a win, the Yankees would mark their first series sweep of Houston since 9/27- 29/13 (3 games) at Minute Maid Park and their first sweep of the Astros in New York since 6/11-13/10 (3 games).

FOR STARTERS: Yankees starting pitchers own the second-lowest ERA (3.60) in the AL in 2021 (Chicago-AL – 2.87)…have allowed 3ER- or-fewer in 15 of their last 16 starts (since 4/18), posting a 2.69 ERA (90.1IP, 27ER) with 101K in that span….is the AL’s best ERA over that span and the second-lowest in MLB (St. Louis-2.57).

PEN PALS: Yankees relievers own a 9.0 scoreless inning streak (since the ninth inn. on 5/1)…own the lowest bullpen ERA (2.24), opp. BA (.179) and WHIP (0.94) in the Majors this season, including an MLB-best 1.99 ERA since 4/20 (15G, 49.2IP, 11ER) …their 140K in 2021 lead the AL and is third in MLB.

LEMACHINE: 2B DJ LeMahieu has reached base multiple times in six of his last eight games (since 4/27), batting .355/.474/.387 (11-for-31) with 10R, 1 double, 1RBI, 6BB and 1HP in that span. … LeMahieu has reached safely in 23-of-28G in 2021, collecting a hit in 21 of those games…has reached base multiple times in a team-leading 16G this season (Judge is second w/ 15).

HICKSY STICKS: CF Aaron Hicks hit a tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth inning on Wednesday…marked his first go- ahead or game-tying hit in the eighth inning or later since 7/23/19 at Minnesota (go-ahead 2R-HR in the ninth inning). Is hitting .353/.450/.647 (6-for-17) with 4R, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB and 1 HBP in his last five games after going hitless in his previous four games.

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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

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