HOUSTON -- If this is the swan song for Yuli Gurriel with the only organization he¡¯s ever known, the seasoned Astros veteran is making the most of it.

Houston¡¯s 38-year-old first baseman went 2-for-3 with a pair of hard-hit singles in the club¡¯s 3-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Minute Maid Park. He¡¯s now 9-for-22 in these playoffs, bringing his slash line to .409/.409/.682 (1.091 OPS) through Houston¡¯s first five games, all victories.

None of Gurriel¡¯s knocks had an impact on Thursday¡¯s outcome, as the Astros again rode the long ball to their win, this time via a three-run blast by Alex Bregman. But Gurriel¡¯s production underscored a valiant resurgence to follow up a disappointing regular season, especially with free agency looming once this playoff run ends.

¡°It's inevitable to think about that, obviously, even right now during the postseason,¡± Gurriel said through an interpreter. ¡°But hopefully, we can finish strong and hopefully, it's not the last one.¡±

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Gurriel, who won the AL batting title in 2021 with a .319 batting average, experienced the third-largest dip in that category among 167 qualified hitters in ¡®22. He also saw a 199-point dip in his OPS, from .846 to .647, with an overall slash line of .242/.288/.360, way below his career mark of .284/.328/.448 (.776 OPS).

Even if this is it for Gurriel in Houston, for a player who didn¡¯t debut until he was 32 years old -- yes, 32, after a defection from Cuba -- it¡¯s been a remarkable run for one of the members of the core four infield that was a part of the 2017 World Series title, with Bregman, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, who departed last offseason via free agency.

¡°If he was here when he was younger, he might be in that conversation for being a Hall of Famer,¡± Bregman said. ¡°He's had an unbelievable career. Being able to learn from him, being able to be around him, has been amazing. He is the definition of a baseball player.¡±

Despite plenty of postseason heroics, Gurriel has remained somewhat overlooked despite his role in shaping these great Astros teams. He¡¯s always been solid, yet overshadowed by the others¡¯ star power. His performance so far in October is a reminder of just what an anchor he¡¯s been.

¡°He's had so many big moments for us in the postseason,¡± Bregman said. ¡°We have all the confidence in the world in him. He should have a lot of confidence in himself too, and I know he does because he knows what kind of career and what kind of player he is and he's had and to see him come through for us these first [five] games has been awesome. I know he expects that out of himself. We expect it from him too. We know he's an elite hitter.¡±

If Houston goes in another direction to address first base this offseason, there¡¯s still a good chance Gurriel lands somewhere, even if in a more diminished role. Despite the dropoff in his traditional batting stats, he still makes among the most consistent contact in the game, with a 12.5 percent strikeout rate that ranked 13th best among all qualified hitters, and a swing-and-miss rate that ranked in the 96th percentile, per Statcast.

He also offers instrumental veteran leadership, especially among Latin American players.

¡°That happens, an up-and-down regular season,¡± Altuve said. ¡°But he¡¯s [showing] that he can be the player that he is. He¡¯s showing us what he¡¯s capable of doing.¡±