On Wednesday night, Christian Walker led the Houston Astros to a 10-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox with three hits, including a home run, and a season-high four RBIs. While Walker shone bright, another player shone brighter as he made his 2300th career hit in the same game.
Jose Altuve’s RBI double in the opening inning got things going. Walker hit a home run off Sean Burke (3-7) to make it 3-0 with two outs in the first. In a season-high six innings, Houston starter Ryan Gusto (4-3) gave up seven hits and two runs while recording a season-high seven strikeouts.
The White Sox dropped 7-27 away from home despite two hits from Josh Rojas.
Neena Altuve Cheers for Her Husband via Social Media
According to Astros beat writer at The Athletic, Chandler Rome, with at least 2,300 hits, Altuve is the 158th player in major league history and only the second active player to do it after Freddie Freeman.
That’s Jose Altuve’s 2,300th career hit. He’s the 158th player in big league history with at least 2,300 hits and just the second active player to reach the threshold, joining Freddie Freeman.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 12, 2025
The second baseman’s wife, Neena Altuve, showed her appreciation for her husband by posting a story for him on Instagram, which showed fans holding a placard with number 2300 on it. Two more placards were raised, one had Altuve’s face on it, and another one had “2300 Altuve hits” written on it.
Neena also put an emoji “ 🙌” below the post. The original post was uploaded by the Astros team.
Even though the Houston Astros are changing up their outfield, Jose Altuve’s position hasn’t altered. Even after top outfield prospect Jacob Melton was called up and added to the starting lineup, manager Joe Espada said this week that Altuve will still receive action in left field.
Espada responded to rumors regarding Altuve’s future in the outfield in a piece written by Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle. “Jose Altuve’s going to go back to left field and he’s going to play some left field,” Espada said before Wednesday’s game.
“I want to take a good look here at Melton… but getting the lefty bat in there, trying to give Melton some starts in left field is something that I’ve been wanting to get him to the big leagues for.”
Since his call-up on June 1st, when Altuve’s outfield presence was diminished, Melton has made six starts in left. This was a calculated attempt to assess Melton while preserving lineup flexibility, not a sign of a demotion. The Astros want to try new things while remaining competitive in the AL West.
In recent games, Altuve, who started 32 of the team’s first 59 games in left field, has been deployed more frequently at second base or as a designated hitter. Houston’s infield defense has been much crisper, with quantifiable gains in efficiency and range, proving that the change has paid off.
Melton’s at-bats and defensive versatility are encouraging, but he’s still struggling at the plate (4-for-23 with nine strikeouts).