NEW YORK – Every year, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve does something on the field that only helps to strengthen his case as a likely Hall of Fame player. His numbers speak for themselves, but being voted as an All-Star Game starter at second base for a sixth time would put him in some very select company. If he's elected by the fans to start his sixth All-Star Game next month in Arlington, Altuve would join Rod Carew (six) and Roberto Alomar (nine) – both Hall of Famers – as the only second basemen to accomplish the feat in the American League at least six times. Altuve, who has appeared in eight All-Star Games, joins outfielder Kyle Tucker and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez as one of three Astros to advance to Phase 2 of the fan voting. During this second phase of voting, in which fans can vote once per day on MLB platforms, vote totals will reset (i.e., vote totals from Phase 1 do not carry over) and the winner at each position will be named a starting position player for the 2024 Midsummer Classic. The second phase of the 2024 MLB All-Star voting will begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday and will end Wednesday, with the starters announced at 7 p.m. CT that night on ESPN. Altuve, who led the Phase 1 voting at second base, is battling with Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien for the AL's starting spot. "I always appreciate the support of our fans and everybody voting for the Astros," said Altuve, who is slashing .304/.351/.473 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs in 80 games. "I'm very thankful for the Astros fans and everybody voting for us." |
Alvarez is looking for his first starting assignment after making the AL team as a reserve the past two years. He's slashing .294/.367/.525 with 19 doubles, 16 homers, 41 RBIs and an .892 OPS in 78 games this year and is battling with Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn at DH. "If I get the votes, I'll be very happy to go and get to participate," he said. Tucker is also coming off back-to-back All-Star Game appearances and has yet to be a starter. With the Yankees' Aaron Judge automatically receiving a spot in the AL's starting lineup after leading all players in votes during Phase 1, Tucker is battling with Juan Soto of the Yankees, Steven Kwan of the Guardians and Anthony Santander of the Orioles for two spots. Tucker was hitting .266 with 11 doubles, 19 homers, 40 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .979 OPS in 60 games before fouling a ball off his shin on June 3 and being on the injured list since. Even if he gets voted into the game, Tucker might not be available to play because of his injury. Still, the fact he's in position to start the Midsummer Classic isn't lost on him. "I think the fans kind of vote for guys that have done well and people they want to see in the game," he said. "I think it's a cool aspect. It's an honor [to] be in the All-Star Game, especially if it's the player vote or the fan vote. It's pretty cool." |
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Friday marked the 17th anniversary of Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit, which came in an 8-5 win over the Rockies at Minute Maid Park. Biggio came into the game needing three hits and went 5-for-6. Which Astros player hit a walk-off grand slam to win the game? A. Lance Berkman B. Jeff Bagwell C. Hunter Pence D. Carlos Lee |
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Triple-A Sugar Land catcher Luke Berryhill, a budding country music artist, released another single Friday titled "Savannah's Not In Georgia," which is available across all major streaming platforms. Berryhill, who taught himself how to play guitar as a freshman in college by watching YouTube videos, performed a song he wrote called "Road to the Show" for his teammates in the clubhouse this spring. |
One week after Astros manager Joe Espada squared off against his brother-in-law, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, in Houston, Espada's managerial opposition for this weekend's series against the Mets in New York was one of his best friends, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. "We know each other pretty well," Mendoza said. "I'm proud of him because of where he's at right now and it'll be fun today competing against him." Both the Mets and Astros got off to slow starts and entered Friday's series opener at Citi Field with .500 records – the Astros were 40-40; the Mets were 39-39. The Mets beat the Astros, 7-2, on Friday. "We both are trying to get over .500 and we both are trying to put our team in a position to gain some ground on our division and his division and the Wild Card," Espada said. "I think [that's one] where, 'We're buddies and we love you,' but it's time to get out there and put our players in position to succeed and it's time to win the series. That's our goal." The history between Espada and Mendoza includes two summers spent together as roommates while playing independent ball in Pensacola, Fla. What's more impressive is Mendoza was Espada's bench coach in winter ball in Puerto Rico, and both coached in the Yankees' system. In fact, it was Mendoza who replaced Espada as the team's infield coach when Espada took the bench coach job with the Astros after 2017. "We have similar values," Espada said. "We're passionate about teaching the game. Our styles are very similar. We like the same hobbies, so we connected right away. Once we started those workouts in Pensacola, I said, 'You and I, we're roomies.' We have stayed in touch since then." |
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Carlos Lee hit a walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning. |
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