Astros: Jose Altuve can join an elite group with one swing

The stage was set. Trevor Bauer had his opportunity to dominate a weakened Houston Astros‘ lineup that he trashed for over two years. Although tossing a quality start, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa granted the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ hurler his first career loss against the team in orange.

Nothing is better than watching a fan base rooted in violence be dragged out of an opposing stadium over a “game,” but with the Astros taking a much needed win, Altuve should feel comfortable with his name in franchise history as well. While Correa has stated that the team has nothing to prove, it feels elated for fans and definitely the franchise to walk away with a win.

With the Astros taking one game without Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley, Jose Altuve has stamped his name in the history books.

While finding his inner George Springer, Altuve launched a leadoff home run into the Crawford Boxes to open the game. The Astros’ media team went after Bauer with this caption, but this home run (139th) tied Altuve with Bob Watson for eighth all-time in Astros franchise history.

The slam also tied him with Cesar Cedeno for fourth all-time in career hits with 1,659. The second baseman would pass this milestone, taking the fourth place spot completely at 1,660 with an RBI-infield single in the seventh inning.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

The sluggers who stand in front of him in home runs are Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, Jim Wynn, George Springer, Glenn Davis and Cesar Cedeno. In total hits, the next move on the ladder is to reach 1937, where Jose Cruz left his mark.

The next achievement on Altuve’s list will come off his next home run as he opens a gap between himself and Cedeno. With a slash line of .311/.360/.460 through 161 at bats, the right-hander is in his All-Star form in May.

The Astros took a 5-2 victory from the Dodgers and have found themselves with an off day on Thursday. While waiting for the San Diego Padres to come into town for a three-game set this weekend, a wave of pitching moves have been made with injuries still lurking.