HOUSTON – The Minute Maid Park roof was opened on a clean Thursday night, a strong and energetic crowd was in every field and the balls continued to fly from the park at a record pace. It was such a good night for Astros that second baseman Jose Altuve later said it was “like a dream come true.”
For A, it was more of a nightmare. Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez and Altuve each won solo homer, while Astros continued their dominance at the start of the season against A with a 6-2 victory in their home opener in front of 21,765 fans – the first time Houston has played in front of his own fans since Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.
“Tonight was a perfect night for us,” Altuve said.
Through seven games, Astros (6-1) recorded 15 home franchises, a mark that also leads the major leagues and scored 51 races, which is second only to the Reds (57). Houston scored at least six games in all but one game, beating Oakland 41-11 in five games against Western American League rivals, all of which were Astros victories.
“This team can hit and work hard in Spring Training,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker. “I have never seen boys hit so hard. They hit in the morning before training, they hit during training, they hit after training. … These guys, they like to hit. I had no expectations. I’d like to see when the bottom of the command starts running. ”
Correa led the second half with a homer on the opposite field to remove Oakland starter Cole Irvin, who only snuck in the first few rows. He teamed up with his homer in two innings on Tuesday, in the ninth inning, which gave Correa homers in a row at bats, as well as allowing the Astros to tie a franchise record by homering in seven consecutive games to start a season.
Alvarez, the starter of the 2019 American League Award of the Year, who missed most of last season from knee surgery, is 10-for-30 to start the season with two homers and eight RBIs. He drove sixth with a 405-foot explosion on the second deck in the right field on Irvin, which made it 3-0.
“I don’t think I saw everything I could,” Baker said. “[Alex] Bregman beats the bat better. Yordan, he’s the one who probably exceeded expectations, because I didn’t know what to expect to get out of Spring Training on foot. It’s a good feeling to draw it every day. ”
Altuve, who came out of a tough 2020 season, is 9-for-29 (.310) to start the year and entered his first homer at Minute Maid Park ahead of fans – and second home overall – from the walk. or explore to beat the Yankees in game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. He, who ran 426 feet, went to a similar part of the stadium in the center-left field to lead the seventh.
“I hit the ball pretty well,” Altuve said. “We had a lot of energy through the game, because the fans cheered us from the first half. This is enough to motivate you and encourage you to go out there and keep hitting the bat. ”
And beating the bat, I’m Astros.