Astros' $163,500,000 Jose Altuve laments throwing error in Mariners defeat as AL West headed for frantic finish - "I put the team in a bad situation"

Jose Altuve had a freak incident in the recent game against the Seattle Mariners. The Houston Astros second baseman, contracted to the team for $163.5 million, made an error that led to a run being scored by the Mariners in their 6-2 win against Houston.

The incident occurred in the bottom of the third. The Mariners had two runners on bases. Mike Ford and Ty France had gotten leadoff singles and Josh Rojas was facing Cristian Javier at the plate. The Mariners left-hander hit the 3-2 pitch toward right field.

Kyle Tucker took a leaping catch and swiftly made the throw toward the infield to stop the sacrifice fly. Jose Altuve intercepted the ball and tried to tag out Ford who had backed up a bit too much near third base.

To Altuve's horror, the ball went above third baseman Alex Bregman and out of play. The officials awarded two automatic bases to the runners as per the rule and Ford completed the run to get the first run on the board for Seattle.

"Terrible throw. I don’t think I had a chance, but the adrenaline of the game, I tried to do too much and put the team in a bad situation. I have to hold the ball there and give the pitcher the opportunity to play for a double play. I put the team in a bad situation," Altuve said after the game. (via The Athletic)

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Jose Altuve's throw part of Astros' season-high three errors

Jose Altuve's throwing error was one of three errors made by the Astros in the game against the Mariners. The other two came from Bregman and Tucker. The latter's throw from right field in the fifth cost Houston another run.

Everything seems to be going wrong for the defending champions as the Texas Rangers have a sizeable lead at the top of the AL West. They have a 0.5-game lead over the Mariners in the AL Wild Card spots currently and need the win the series decider.