AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 7, 2021

Jose Altuve

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. José, you guys have faced Lance Lynn a good bit, dating back to his time with the Rangers. What makes him such a good pitcher? Why do you think you guys have had a lot of success against him the last three, four times you faced him?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think he's a really good pitcher. He has good two seam, good fastball. And he's pretty good, good cutter.

We've got a good lineup too. We have some success in the past, but today is a new game. Everybody starts from zero, and we're going to go out there and try to win the game.

Q. After being in the playoffs so many times, do you still get excited when a new postseason approaches?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Absolutely, every time. It doesn't matter how many playoffs I have, it's really exciting. I'm happy and looking forward to go out there and make it happen.

Q. Marwin's not on the roster. Were you surprised or disappointed that he didn't make the roster for the ALDS?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I just found out.

Q. What do you think about it?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Nothing.

Q. A lot of you guys have been here before, but what do you think about some of the younger players on the team like Jake Meyers, who's going to start today, and obviously Chas and José and some of the other guys who don't have as much postseason experience as you and what they've done this year.

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think they bring a lot of energy to the team, the way they play. Siri, Meyers, Chas, all three are really good outfielders. They can hit for power and steal bases. I'm pretty sure they're going to help the team to win, and they're going to do everything they can to make this happen, to make this possible.

Q. These last two years playing for Dusty Baker, how much has that helped you or helped the team? How has that impacted you guys?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: It helped us a lot because he's been in the game way longer than all of us playing. He gives you confidence. He lets you go out there and play, but sometimes he says things that you need to hear in order to improve your game, to keep helping your team.

Q. You all had a remarkable run in terms of getting to the playoffs four straight ALCS and all that. What do you think of the opportunity this year to make a deep run to win it all again?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I really like the team we have. I think we have a great opportunity in front of us. Like I said, I like every single player on the roster. I know that we're all going to go out there with one mission, and it's just to win it all. I like our chances.

Q. Looking at some of your splits on the statistics, it looked like you had the same batting average against righties, against lefties, home and away. Is that something that you would notice at all or that would stand out to you, or would you have any thoughts about it?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: I think it's crazy. I mean, that's real impressive.

Q. What's it mean to get the chance this afternoon to play in front of fans again in the postseason? It's been a little while since that happened.

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Yeah, that's probably the thing that makes me more excited. I'm really happy about it. We have the opportunity to play the playoffs last year, but nothing compared to this. The fans are the number one reason why we play the game. I said it many times, and I'm really excited to play today in front of our fans in Houston.

Q. What do you think about the way that Framber has pitched this season?

JOSÉ ALTUVE: Really good. After his injury back in the Spring Training, he recovered pretty fast, and he works really hard to pitch the way he did. It's always fun to play behind him. His two seam and curveball gives you a lot of action in the infield, and we're happy with that.