Houston Astros' Jose Altuve completes cycle in 13-5 rout of Boston Red Sox
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is in his 13th MLB season and he's still achieving firsts.
For the first time in his career, Altuve hit for a cycle, registering a single, double, triple and home run, in the Astros' 13-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night in Fenway Park.
The eight-time All-Star started Monday's contest with a swinging strike out against Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, but he rebounded in epic fashion. Altuve hit a double to right field during his next trip to the plate in the third inning and followed that with a single to left in the fifth inning. He hit a two-run RBI triple to right field in the sixth inning off Red Sox reliever Kyle Barraclough and launched a two-run, 420-foot bomb to left center in the eighth inning to complete the cycle.
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Altuve said he was "kind of" thinking of the cycle while approaching the plate in the eighth inning, just one home run short of the rare hitting feat: "You are kind of thinking about it, but you don’t want to get out of your approach. You just look for a good pitch to hit and hopefully it happens."
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Well, it happened. He received a boisterous applause from the crowd and his teammates when he returned to the visiting dugout. Altuve said his teammates were "really happy" and "wanted it more than me."
"It was a great game. Every one got a lot of hits and ended up winning this one," he added postgame
It was only the ninth cycle hit in Astros history, the first since outfielder Brandon Barnes in 2013. Altuve is also the sixth player to complete the cycle at Fenway Park, the first since Bengie Molina in 2010.
Altuve finished the game with four hits, four RBIs, four runs and one strikeout in six at-bats.