During the bottom half of the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, and with two outs, Altuve fielded a routine grounder and short-armed the ball to first baseman Yuri Gurriel, who couldn’t scoop it up for the out. Ji-Man Choi reached first base safely in what should have been a third out and a 0-0 game. The next Rays batter, Manuel Margot, then slammed a home run 406 feet over the centerfield wall.

Just like that, the Rays led 3-0 instead of being scoreless and going into the second inning.

Then, in the bottom of the third inning and the score still at 3-0, Altuve fielded another ball while in a shift. And once again, he short-armed it to first. This time, Brandon Lowe reached first base. The Astros got out of the inning on yet another grounder to second, with Altuve making an accurate throw, this time throwing out Joey Wendle for the third out.

The Rays lead the best-of-7 series, 1-0, after taking Game 1 with a 2-1 win Sunday. The ALCS is being played at PETCO Park in San Diego. Games are scheduled every day until one team wins four games. The winner of this series advances to face the NLCS winner between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. That series starts later today in Arlington, Texas.

The World Series is scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 20 with Game 1. The World Series will be played at the new Globe Life Field in Arlington.

As for Monday’s Astros-Rays game, Altuve struck out looking in the first inning and singled to center in the third. The Astros left five runners on base through the first three innings, and the team was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros are playing in their fourth-consecutive ALCS. They won it in 2017 and 2019, advancing to the World Series each time. They won the World Series in seven games over the Dodgers in 2017, and then lost in seven games to the Washington Nationals in 2019.

Altuve was the American League MVP during 2017. Major League Baseball later discovered in late 2019 that the Astros used a system to steal pitching signals from opposing pitchers and let their batters know what pitch was coming next.

Top management was suspended for an entire season, including former manager A.J. Hinch. No players were punished for their part.

During the game Monday, here are some of the things said about Altuve’s throwing mishaps.