Jose Altuve pulled off a smart steal of home by catching Bryce Harper off guard on a routine pickoff move. With runners on the corners and two outs in the first inning, Taijuan Walker threw a casual curveball for strike one to Victor Caratini, then checked the runner at first. Harper, playing first base, gently tagged the runner and momentarily focused on Jeremy Peña, who had just gotten his leg clipped by Harper’s during a tag. Harper showed good sportsmanship, giving Peña a quick pat and checking if he was okay.
That’s when Altuve took off. He saw Harper’s attention shift and bolted home. No wild pitch, no passed ball. Just pure timing and awareness. The Astros all lit up once they realized what had just happened. Harper’s brief moment of kindness gave Altuve just enough time to sneak in a run. It wasn’t a mental error so much as a rare case of a heads-up baserunner exploiting a tiny opening. The very next pitch produced the third out, but Houston had already stolen a run that shouldn’t have been there.