WATCH: Jose Altuve falls a triple shy of cycle after falling 90 feet shy of third base

Altuve would have had the cycle-clinching three-bagger had he not stumbled rounding second

One night after wrecking Edinson Volquez, the Astros hammered Royals righty Chris Young for seven runs in only 2 1/3 innings Saturday night. Houston won Saturday's game (HOU 13, KC 5) for their seventh straight victory. After starting the season 17-28, the Astros are now 39-36.

Naturally, second baseman Jose Altuve was a major force in Saturday's blowout win. He went 4 for 5 with a single, two doubles, and a home run to raise his overall season batting line to .348/.427/.567. Altuve scored three runs and drove in three as well. He is very much in the super early AL MVP conversation.

This MVP candidate had a great, but not perfect, day on Saturday. USATSI

Altuve started his night with a first-inning double. He followed by smacking the homer in the second inning. Then, in the fourth, he laced a single. Altuve was only a triple shy of the cycle with five innings to go. Lots of guys fall a triple short of the cycle -- it's not that uncommon -- but Altuve's a great player and he had a lot of innings left.

Of course, not many guys have fallen short of a triple in the literal sense.

Altuve ripped a booming line drive into the left-center field gap in the sixth inning that had triple written all over it. He was busting it out of the box and he rounded first with a full head of steam. Altuve had three bases on his mind and was preparing to cut around second base when he stumbled and lost his footing.

Check it out:

Bad time to blow out a tire, Jose! He had to settle for a double instead of completing the cycle with a triple. That's a shame. Cycles are pretty darn cool, not that going 4 for 5 with a homer and two doubles is bad.

Altuve would have been the ninth player in Astros history to hit for the cycle. (Cesar Cedeno did it twice.) Brandon Barnes was the last Astro to hit for the cycle. He did it back in 2013. Altuve's cycle would have been the sixth in Kauffman Stadium history and first since Scott Cooper in 1994.

Given his skill set, doesn't it feel like Altuve is destined to hit for the cycle at some point? He'll get it one day.