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Altuve named ALCS MVP after series-clinching blast

Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Moments after crushing a walk-off homer to clinch the pennant, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was named 2019 American League Championship Series MVP.

Altuve hit .348/.444/.652 with two homers, three RBIs, and six runs scored while striking out only once in the six-game series win over the New York Yankees. He reached base safely in all six contests and had at least two hits in four of them. Only in Game 5 did he fail to record a base hit, though he was still productive with a pair of walks.

Altuve's the fourth Astros player to win the LCS MVP award, joining Mike Scott (1986, in a losing cause), Roy Oswalt (2005), and Justin Verlander (2017). He's also the sixth AL second baseman to earn the honor.

"I get asked to describe Jose Altuve all the time," manager A.J. Hinch said during the postgame celebrations, according to The Associated Press. "I think MVP is what he is."

Altuve has been a rock for the Astros throughout his career, but he's always stepped it up a notch in the playoffs. The 29-year-old came into Saturday's game sporting a lifetime .877 OPS in postseason play. During the 2019 playoffs, he's hit five homers (three in the division series) and recorded five multi-hit games.

His walk-off homer was the 13th long ball of his playoff career, moving him back into a tie with teammate George Springer for the Astros' franchise record.

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