2B Jose Altuve made his first start of the season at designated hitter in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader at New York. It was his 23rd career game as a DH and first since playing the final two games of last season there.

2B Jose Altuve returned to starting lineup after sitting out Saturday's game until coming in as a pinch-runner late. He had a single and three run home run Sunday to extend his hitting streak at Angel Stadium to 17 games. The streak dates back to June 2015. He's hitting over .400 in that streak. Altuve was caught stealing inSaturday's loss and was picked off first by RHP Matt Shoemaker Sunday. His nine steals is tied for the most in the A.L.

2B Jose Altuve got a surprise gift on his 27th birthday Saturday -- a day off. Houston manager A.J. Hinch chose to give the All-Star his first day off the season. He'll return to the lineup Sunday. The Astros have a day off Monday. "It's a normal day off," Hinch said. "It's just preemptively keeping these guys fresh. It's probably the best birthday present I can give him." Altuve came in as a pinch runner in the eighth and was thrown out stealing by the Angels' Juan Graterol.

2B Jose Altuve smacked his third home run of the season in the eighth inning on Saturday night off Athletics LHP Sean Doolittle. Altuve has hit safely in 11 of 14 games. He is batting .398 (19-for-48) with three homers and seven RBIs during that span.

2B Jose Altuve was not in the starting lineup Thursday as he continues to recover from a jarring collision with OF Teoscar Hernandez in Tuesday's game. Altuve did make a pinch-hitting appearance in the ninth inning and reached base on an infield single leading off the ninth inning. However, he was thrown out trying to steal second, a play that loomed even larger when the next two Astros both singled. "It was a good throw (by C Yan Gomes) and a good pick and tag (by SS Francisco Lindor)," Altuve said.

2B Jose Altuve did not play Wednesday night, the result of his involvement in a collision with OF Teoscar Hernandez while both players were chasing a fly ball in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game. Altuve did not sustain a specific injury in the collision but had enough general soreness that he was given the day off.

2B Jose Altuve had to leave the game in the eighth inning after a frightening collision with RF Teoscar Hernandez. The two players were racing full speed for a fly ball hit by C Yan Gomes into shallow right field. The two players collided, and both of them remained on the ground for several minutes. Altuve eventually walked off the field under his own power, but Hernandez had to be carted off. Hernandez was diagnosed with a left knee contusion. "It was a nasty collision, with both guys going after the ball," manager A.J. Hinch said. "Teo took more of the brunt of it. Jose was jarred. We'll see how Jose is tomorrow. He'll probably feel like he was in a car wreck, but I feel pretty good about him." Hinch said team officials would meet and decide whether the collision would require a roster move prior to Wednesday's game.

CLEVELAND -- Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez were removed from Tuesday night's game against the Cleveland Indians following a jarring collision in shallow right field in the eighth inning.Chasing a fly ball hit by Yan Gomes, Altuve raced into the outfield and Hernandez came sprinting in. Both players were racing at full speed and watching the ball when the collision occurred. The two players remained on the ground for several minutes. Altuve, who appeared to get hit in the jaw, eventually got to his feet and walked off the field. Hernandez, who appeared to have a left leg injury, had to be carted off the field.

2B Jose Altuve went 1-for-3 and showed off his speed in the sixth inning, stealing second base and then scoring from second on a ground ball to first base for what was then the go-ahead run.

2B Jose Altuve reached base twice but was picked off first bases in back-to-back innings by Rays starter Alex Cobb. The 1-for-5 night dropped his average to .303, but the bottom of Houston's lineup made up for it Friday.

2B Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to seven games and has reached safely in the last 10. With his sixth stolen base of the season, Altuve now has 205 in his career. This puts him 12 behind Terry Puhl for fifth place on the Astros all-time stolen base list.

2B Jose Altuve's streak of reaching base safely ended in the first inning Saturday when he struck out against LHP Sean Manaea. It is the longest streak by an Astro since Bill Spiers set the club record with 13 in 1997.

2B Jose Altuve went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two walks, scored twice and stole a base. He has reached base safely in 11 straight plate appearances, which is two shy of the franchise record. Altuve raised his batting average from .275 to .326. "I feel good," Altuve said. "A couple days ago I wasn't doing really good, but I felt like I was getting close. It's hard to believe that you are getting better when you are striking out and hitting .150, but that was the way I felt."

2B Jose Altuve recorded his 200th career stolen base and first multi-hit game of the season Sunday against the Royals. It marked the second consecutive season in which Altuve recorded his first multi-hit game in the seventh game. Altuve won the 2016 American League battle title and finished with 216 hits. He is the seventh player in club history with at least 200 steals and is three steals from passing Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell.

Before the Astros stepped foot in their new spring training facility at West Palm Beach, Fla., virtually all the decisions regarding their 25-man roster were made, rendering the notion of Grapefruit League competition futile.There were evaluations set to impact the fringes of the roster, but the series of offseason maneuvers executed by general manager Jeff Luhnow essentially eliminated the need for manager A.J. Hinch to stringently analyze every player in his clubhouse. The Astros knew what they were before they arrived by design."This is what a team that's going into the season that's profiled to be good, that has a lot of depth, is supposed to feel like," Hinch said. "It should be hard to crack our team."The additions of Nori Aoki, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Josh Reddick put Hinch in position to construct his batting order and defensive alignment before the club went through the paces of actually preparing for the season. The protracted, painful rebuild to contention manifested... [More]

2B Jose Altuve quietly changed agents during the season, signing with Scott Boras and raising antennae in the process. He signed a team-friendly extension that pays him just $17 million (including two team options) through 2019, a salary well below the market rate from a player with his history of production. Altuve is locked into his deal, but that doesn't mean the two sides can't begin the process of renegotiating to make his compensation commiserate to his talents.

DH Jose Altuve finished the season as the American League's batting champion and leader in hits. Altuve went 1-for-4 and struck out once in an 8-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Altuve ended the season with a .338 average, 216 hits, 24 home runs and 96 RBIs. The latter two figures are career highs.

Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu achieved a goal that he thought was unlikely -- and he went to great lengths to make sure it became possible.LeMahieu won his first National League batting title by hitting a major-league-leading .348, but his path to the crown was not exactly the stuff made of legends.The 28-year-old sat out Colorado's final two games -- and four of its final five -- to protect his one-point lead over injured Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy."It hasn't been a very fun week," LeMahieu told the Denver Post on Sunday. "It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's pretty special."Colorado manager Walt Weiss defended his decision to hold out LeMahieu, who was hitless in two at-bats Friday before he was removed from the game."It was a weird situation with the batting title thing," Weiss said. "It was unique in that the other guy he was battling with wasn't playing. He was hurt. I didn't want DJ to lose the batting title that way. So I did what I could to kind... [More]

DH Jose Altuve practically secured his second American League batting championship in three seasons Saturday night. Altuve went 2-for-4, walked, scored a run and stole two bases in a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Altuve's .338 average leads OF Mookie Betts and 2B Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox by 18 points. Altuve's two steals give him 30 for the season, marking the fifth consecutive time he has stolen at least 30 bases.

2B Jose Altuve singled in the sixth inning, giving him hits in seven of his last eight games. Altuve is batting .314 (11-for-35) during that span and, with 210 hits, leads the majors just ahead of Red Sox RF Mookie Betts (209).