Jose Altuve passes Jeff Bagwell on Houston’s all-time hit list as Astros beat Rockies

Jose Altuve had a couple Hall of Fame moments on Wednesday, while the Rockies lacked any game-changing ones of their own.

Houston’s star second baseman laid down a crafty bunt in the opening inning that helped the Astros take an early lead, and then delivered a two-out, two-RBI single later in the game that passed Jeff Bagwell on the club’s all-time hits list and ended up being the difference.

That led to a 5-3 defeat for Colorado at Coors Field. With that, the Rockies dropped to 19-67 — remaining on pace to eclipse the 2024 White Sox’s modern record of 121 losses — and are now 8-34 in LoDo, the worst home record in the majors.

“That bunt game has always been part of (Altuve’s) game,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “And then in the sixth, that’s the matchup we wanted against (Jake Bird). Altuve just got the job done. He’s a really good player.”

The Astros struck first in the opening inning. Jake Meyers roped a double, then Altuve laid down bunt single to the left side of the infield, recognizing that third baseman Ryan McMahon was playing extremely deep. That advanced Meyers to third, and then he scored on Cam Smith’s single.

“(Altuve) did that to me last year, too, two times,” starting pitcher Austin Gomber said. “Situationally, it was a good play with a guy in scoring position. I don’t think anybody was expecting him to lay down a bunt there, with his ability to drive in runs. It was great execution, and that’s why he’s (possibly) going to have 3,000 hits one day.”

Houston added on off Gomber in the second via Shay Whitcomb’s no-doubt homer 451-feet to left-center on a piped fastball. It was Whitcomb’s first career homer and the longest homer by an Astro this season.

But Mikey Moniak erased the deficit in the bottom of the frame with his own long ball, a 420-foot two-run homer to center off Houston’s Hunter Brown. Moniak’s 12th homer was the one shining moment for Colorado’s offense all night.

Three quiet innings followed before Houston re-asserted control of the game with a three-run sixth off Colorado’s bullpen combo of Angel Chivilli and Jake Bird. Gomber finished with two earned runs over five innings, with eight hits, a walk and a strikeout on 78 pitches.

Gomber said he was satisfied with how he “was able to pull it together there in the middle innings and keep us in the game.” Schaeffer agreed.

“The first two innings he didn’t have the stuff he wanted to, but he settled in and gave us a professional outing,” Schaeffer said.

The Astros notched a single and a walk off Chivilli, then Schaeffer tabbed Bird, the normally reliable right-hander who has been struggling lately with a 7.45 ERA in his previous nine games.

Bird plunked the first batter his faced, Meyers, with a fastball. Then Altuve hit a two-out single to center to score two. It was the second baseman’s 2,315th career hit, surpassing Bagwell (fellow Hall of Famer Craig Biggio holds the franchise’s top mark with 3,060) and giving Houston a 4-2 lead.

“I got something I could handle,” Altuve said. “He threw a slider (first pitch) middle-away and I put the bat there to get a few runs that ended up giving us the win.

“… The guy who I passed today, he’s helped me to get a lot of hits. (Bagwell) is always texting me to help me get my mechanics right, he’s always helped me to be the hitter that I am. And he texted me (after the game) to say he’s happy for me.”