In many ways, Jose Altuve’s two-run homer run in the eighth inning Saturday night felt like it saved the day for the Astros, considering the skies were about to open as the grounds crew at Kauffman Stadium had the tarp ready and the game was suddenly tied. Raindrops began falling just as Altuve touched home plate, and soon tornado sirens were blaring, fans were scurrying for safety and the rain was blowing sideways. There weren’t any guarantees the game would have resumed if the Royals had the lead, but a tie meant there would be more baseball. “Using a word from the NBA Finals, it was at the buzzer,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Altuve’s homer. After a 91-minute rain delay, the Astros pushed the winning run across in the ninth when Joey Loperfido scored on Christian Walker fielder’s choice -- it would have been an inning-ending double play had Royals second baseman Nick Loftin not thrown the ball wide of first base -- and Bryan Abreu shut the door in the ninth to seal the Astros’ 8-7 win. “How many times have we seen Altuve hit home runs in big moments?” Espada said. “That was it right there. They could have easily put the tarp on \[prior to the inning\
