HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the Astros' loss to the Angels on Monday night.
It extended his hitting streak to a season-high six games and he has five consecutive multi-hit games for the first time since July 4-14, 2017.
Remember, that's when Altuve was named American League MVP and the Astros won the World Series.
Obviously, a lot has changed for the Astros since then.
They became the Major League Baseball pariah after their sign-stealing scheme from that season was revealed.
Somehow, Altuve became the face of the scandal, despite being arguably the least culpable of all the Astros' stars.
Altuve had a down year in 2020, but it was an odd time for everyone.
With his early performance, Altuve is showing the pushback is not impacting his play on the field, even if he doesn't like to hear the boos.
The only thing to throw off Altuve this season was a positive COVID-19 test, which kept him out of the Astros' lineup for about a week.
On top of being productive in the leadoff spot, he's the only qualified second baseman in the AL without an error this season.
For someone once feared to have the yips in last year's playoff run, that's just as encouraging as the at-bats.
