Jose Altuve’s home run gives Astros wild win as benches clear in ALCS Game 5 vs. Rangers

Jose Altuve’s home run gives Astros wild win as benches clear in ALCS Game 5 vs. Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas – This American League Championship Series pitting in-state rivals took a turn from congenial to contentious to crazy – until finally, one of the greatest postseason players in baseball history restored order.

In a stunning final four innings that saw two massive swings of the bat, three lead changes and a benches-clearing brouhaha all while the upper hand in this ALCS found a balance, Jose Altuve had the last word. His three-run home run to left field off Rangers closer Jose Leclerc in the top of the ninth gave the Astros a 5-4 VICTORY IN GAME, bringing their season off life support and back, once again, on the doorstep to the World Series.

It was Altuve’s 26th career home run, second-most in major league playoff history, and it ranks among the most memorable.

For the Rangers, it was another sordid chapter in a postseason history that ultimately ends with them snake-bitten.