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Jose Altuve Catches Bryce Harper Snoozing to Steal Home in Astros-Phillies

Tom Dierberger

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Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve got the best of Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper in the first inning Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.

With Altuve standing at third base, Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker tried to pick off Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena at first. Harper tried to plant the tag on Pena but the throw was too late.

As Harper took his time getting the ball back to Walker on the mound, Altuve bolted home. Harper noticed the 34-year-old streaking down the third-base line too late, and Altuve slid headfirst safely for the first run of the game.

That will go down as Altuve's 20th stolen base of the season, his most since his AL MVP campaign in 2017 when he swiped 32 bags as a 27-year-old.

Both teams entered Wednesday's game in first place in their respective divisions. The Phillies hold a six-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, and the Astros lead the Seattle Mariners by 3.5 games in the AL West.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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