Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred did not seek justice for the teams swept up in the Houston Astros cheating scandal that came to light earlier this year.

The pandemic denied baseball fans the chance to jeer in person the trash can pounding team many refer to as the Asterisks

Houston’s opponents failed to get revenge for the 2017 tainted title other than some hit batsmen.

That’s OK. Karma’s got this.

The Astros’ free ride was getting out of hand. Somehow they managed to make it to the playoffs with a losing record, and also reached the American League Championship Series. Perhaps the baseball gods were fed up and took their frustrations out on Jose Altuve.

Altuve, a former MVP with a perfect throwing record all season, has committed three costly errors in the past two games, enabling Tampa Bay to take a 3-0 series lead over Houston.

Altuve’s yips re-emerged Tuesday night, when he bounced a throw into left field while attempting a routine double play. A five-run Rays rally ensued and wiped out the Astros’ 1-0 lead.

“It was a nightmare inning,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.

Altuve was not available for comment after the game. Of course he wasn’t. The Astros took no responsibility when the widespread cheating scandal of the 2017 championship was discovered in January and players were granted immunity for testifying against the three staff leaders who were suspended.

It might be a tad unfair if Altuve was truly fighting against the sign-stealing effort and benefitting the least from the schemes, as Astros players attest and some seamhead studies have shown.

Given the dirty tricks the Astros pulled in 2017, most baseball fans, especially in New York and Los Angeles are happy with baseball karma for finally doing its thing.

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