Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Jose Altuve (27) reacts after a play during the game against the New York Mets at Daikin Park. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve Strikes Out 5 Times For 1st Time in Storied Career

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 8:00 AM ET

For well over a decade, Jose Altuve has been critical to the Houston Astros' sucess.

That certainly wasn't the case Thursday.

The Astros came away with a 5-2 win in their series opener against the Minnesota Twins. Altuve, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.

Altuve's first four strikeouts of the day were all swinging. He finally worked his way to a full count in the top of the ninth inning, only to strike out looking on a slider low and outside.

It marked the first platinum sombrero – an 0-for-5 performance with five strikeouts – of Altuve's 15-year MLB career. His only career golden sombrero – an 0-for-4 performance with four strikeouts – came back on Aug. 4, 2021.

As noted by Codify Baseball, Alutve became the first Astros player to record a platinum sombrero since Gerrit Cole did so against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 4, 2018.

Jose Altuve was 0-5 today and struck out 5 times. It's the first platinum sombrero by an Astro since Gerrit Cole did the same in May 2018. pic.twitter.com/YvzQRjuSgP
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 3, 2025

Prior to Thursday, Altuve was batting .391 with a .962 OPS and 0.4 WAR. He had struck out just six times total across Houston's first six games of 2025.

The 34-year-old has averaged a mere 92 strikeouts per 162 games since reaching the big leagues in 2011. He is now on pace for 255 this season.

Altuve's uncharacteristic showing at the plate stood in opposition to his continued reliability in left field, though, as he has now converted on all seven of his defensive chances since taking on his new position. Brendan Rodgers – Altuve’s replacement at second base – went 3-for-4 with three RBIs on Thursday.

The Astros and Twins have a day off Friday, but will resume their series at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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