Smash your bat twice for off-speed ? pic.twitter.com/QpiKMbFN9j
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 31, 2021
Jose Altuvé had a successful plate appearance in the first inning.
When the Houston 2B approached the in plate in San Francisco for the first time since the Astros cheating scandal was unearthed a chorus of boos rained down on him.
He responded by poking a single by Brandon Crawford, who took bad read on the ball and let it get past him into left field. Altuve would come around to score later in the inning for the first run of the game.
For the next at-bat, Altuvé got the same treatment from the fans, but it was a different outcome at the plate.
The seven-time All-Star struck out looking on a ball that appeared well below the strike zone.
Bad day to be Altuvé’s bat.
When the 2017 AL MVP got back to the dugout he decided it was the equipment that was at fault and took two big swings with the wrong end of the bat, smashing the handle on the floor in the process. (Make sure you check out Houston’s starting pitcher in the background of the video at the top of the page.)
What a moment.