Here's more evidence that the tide is turning on perception of Astros' Jose Altuve
THEY FINALLY SEE THE LIGHT
21 February 2024
THEY FINALLY SEE THE LIGHT
Baseball season is right around the corner and the Astros are preparing to make another run at a World Series title in 2024. This Saturday, Ronel Blanco will start the Astros first game of spring training against the Washington Nationals.
Jose Altuve made big news recently when he signed a 5-year $125 million extension with Houston, basically making him an Astro for life.
That piece of news seemed to play a role in the making of this video about Jose Altuve and the unjustified amount of hate he has received from the scandal in 2017.
This certainly isn't breaking news for any Astros fan, but it's nice to see outlets that aren't Houston branded pumping the brakes on the criticism he's received over the last several years.
iTalk Studios is a YouTube channel with 146K subscribers, and they put together this video to outline what actually took place in 2017 and highlight how Altuve took the brunt of the blowback from the scandal. Even though he wasn't a willing participant.
We found it refreshing to hear talking points that Houston fans have been saying for years. The video discusses the evidence from Signstealing.com, how winning the MVP over Aaron Judge factored into the hate, and the nonsense buzzer conspiracy that still has Yankee fans chanting “F-Altuve” even when the Astros aren't in town.
The video above is not perfect, there's no mention of the Yankees and Red Sox cheating. And even Justin Verlander catches some criticism, along with Carlos Correa, George Springer, and Alex Bregman. But overall, it's nice to see Houston fans aren't the only ones that realize Jose Altuve didn't deserve to be the face of the scandal.
Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and Jeremy Peña homered and drove in four runs as the Houston Astros defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1 on Wednesday.
Houston earned just its second victory in seven games to snap Milwaukee’s three-game winning streak and leave both teams with .500 records. The Brewers were attempting to sweep a series from the Astros for the first time since 2012.
The Astros led 3-1 before Peña broke the game open by delivering a three-run homer to left off reliever Elvin Rodriguez with two outs in the sixth inning.
JP3-run bomb. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/En0XXWdlt0
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
Valdez (2-4) struck out seven while allowing three hits, two walks and one run to earn his first win since the Astros’ March 27 season opener. He threw a season-high 101 pitches.
The Framchise is all business.#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/J8EGGDk5gl
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
Milwaukee’s only run off Valdez came on Eric Haase’s fifth-inning homer, a 425-foot drive to center.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead off Quinn Priester (1-1) in the second inning as Jake Meyers hit a two-out single and scored on Zach Dezenzo’s double.
RBI double for Zach gets us on the board early! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/AilCY27A9d
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
The Brewers have lost all 13 games this season in which their opponent scored first.
Five-time All-Star closer Josh Hader worked the ninth while pitching in Milwaukee for the first time since the Brewers traded him in 2022.
The Astros led 1-0 and had runners on third and second with one out in the fifth when Peña hit a bouncer to third.
Safe all day. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/OVjcvev7cM
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 7, 2025
The throw home beat Dezenzo to the plate. Home plate umpire Chris Conroy initially ruled Dezenzo out, but the Astros challenged the call and replays showed the runner slid home ahead of Haase’s tag.
Valdez has now pitched at least seven innings an MLB-leading 57 times since 2020.
The Astros host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Scheduled pitchers are right-hander Hunter Brown (5-1, 1.67) for the Astros and right-hander Nick Martinez (1-3, 4.19) for the Reds.
The Brewers visit the Tampa Bay Ray on Friday. Left-hander José Quintana (4-1, 2.83) will pitch for the Brewers.