A BIG DEAL
Astros lock up Altuve longterm with 5-year, $150-million extension
Mar 16, 2018, 4:58 pm
Jose Altuve is going to get paid. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Rejoice Astros fans, you have your cornerstone player for the foreseeable future as Jose Altuve and the Astros have agreed on a 5-year, $150 million dollar deal to keep the superstar second baseman in Houston after his current contract ends. The deal is the largest in franchise history.
With Altuve under contract through 2018 with a team option in 2019, the five-year deal kicks in for the 2020 season, keeping Altuve on the Astros through 2024. The contract comes as a great reward for Altuve, who is coming off his AL MVP season in which he completed his fourth-consecutive season with at least 200 hits and also recording his highest season batting average at .346.
Altuve has been a vital part of the Astros organization since he arrived, making five All-Star game appearances and acting as the fan-favorite face of the franchise. He appears to be on a Craig Biggio-esque journey to possibly spend his entire career in Houston and help keep the team in contention for the next half-decade.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.