Jose Altuve's career-high 5 strikeouts spark Twins crowd in home opener loss to Astros
MINNEAPOLIS — Darren McCaughan pitched with a three-run deficit in the ninth inning on Thursday afternoon, but the Target Field crowd made so much noise the Minnesota Twins reliever needed to cup his ear to receive his catcher's instructions.
'First time I haven't been able to hear the PitchCom out there,' the right-hander said.
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McCaughan's opponent at the plate also was in the midst of a new experience.
As Jose Altuve fell behind in the count against the veteran reliever, one of Major League Baseball's best pure hitters found himself in uncharted territory: in danger of the first five-strikeout game of his career.
Even though Altuve's Houston Astros held a 5-2 lead and were about to wreck the Twins' home opener, as McCaughan closed in on a rare opportunity against the future Hall of Famer, the announced crowd of 36,783 was energized.
Only twice before in Altuve's 15-year career had he even struck out four times in a game. When McCaughan got ahead in the count 0-2, a crowd largely quieted by a lethargic Twins offense got loud enough for the pitcher to notice.
'I figured the crowd was going crazy for a reason,' McCaughan said. 'I saw (Altuve) strike out a few times. I didn't know the exact number on it. But yeah, I was seeing him swing-and-miss when I was sitting down in the bullpen.'
Altuve's reputation as one of baseball's best hitters stems from his outstanding bat-to-ball skills. Entering Thursday, he'd struck out only 1,036 times in 8,667 plate appearances, which equates to a low 12.8 percent strikeout rate.
Only once in his career has Altuve produced a triple-digit strikeout season — last year, when he whiffed 119 times. Through six games this season, Altuve had accrued six strikeouts. But on Thursday, McCaughan and the Twins had his number.
Twins starter Joe Ryan began Altuve's long day with a 1-2 sweeper for a swinging strike for the first out of the game. After falling behind Altuve 3-0 in the third, Ryan came back with three straight fastballs for another swinging strikeout. Altuve chased a 2-2 sweeper from Ryan in the fifth inning for the third strikeout. Reliever Jorge Alcala blew a 99 mph fastball past Altuve in the seventh as the Astros star reached four strikeouts for the first time in a game since 2021. (He also did it in 2018.)
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McCaughan, who has six strikeouts in 4 2/3 scoreless innings this season, including four on Thursday, pushed Altuve to the verge of one of his worst career days with two quick strikes in the ninth as the crowd chimed in. Their response boosted the pitcher's adrenaline.
'That was kind of new,' McCaughan said. 'I'm like, 'All right, I gotta kind of cover (my ear) a little bit.' But yeah, it just kind of locks me in.'
Altuve didn't go quietly.
He evened the count at 2-2 before fouling off a sweeper. Even with a nice framing attempt by catcher Ryan Jeffers on the next pitch, McCaughan missed outside with a sinker to take the count full.
But McCaughan, who allowed seven earned runs and eight hits in four innings in his only other career appearance against Houston, a July 26, 2021 start for Seattle, buckled down and threw a 3-2 sinker for a strike — much to the hitter's dismay.
'I wanted (the 2-2 pitch), but I think it was a ball,' McCaughan said. 'Three-two, I don't know, looked good to me.'
But the Twins went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Astros the win and Altuve the last laugh even on his whiff-filled day.
(Top photo of Jose Altuve: Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
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