The Minnesota Twins didn't give their fans much to cheer about in a 5-2 home-opening loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday, but Astros nine-time All-Star Jose Altuve sure did.
Altuve struck out five times in a game for the first time in his decorated career—and Twins fans were delighted, to say the least. After taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning, Minnesota surrendered a pair of runs in the second and fourth innings and trailed for the remainder of the game. So, the fans had to find something to cheer for, and they quickly did so as they watched Altuve inch ever closer to his unfortunate career milestone.
The Astros star's first three strikeouts of the game drew the reaction one would expect from a baseball crowd in April: a few excited cheers and a smattering of applause. After his fourth strikeout, the crowd let out a louder cheer and jeered Altuve as he walked back to the dugout.
So, by the time Altuve's fifth at-bat rolled around in the top of the ninth inning, Twins fans knew they were on the cusp of witnessing history. As the Astros star walked up the plate, fans rose to their feet, as if it was a critical at-bat in Game 7 of the World Series.
When Altuve swung and missed on a 3-2 sinker, the Target Field crowd erupted.
Jose Altuve has struck out five times in a game for the first time in his career pic.twitter.com/B4hdQOXVj4
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 3, 2025
Altuve has become a villain in the eyes of many fans for his perceived role in the Astros' cheating scandal, which by some accounts, he did not actively want to be a part of. But the stain has followed him since. Add in the fact that he is objectively a great hitter and it's not hard to see why the Twins fans enjoyed some schadenfreude amid his no-good-very-bad day at the dish.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Twins Fans Enjoy Schadenfreude at Jose Altuve's Expense After Five-Strikeout Game.
