Yordan Alvarez slugs 200th career homer in loss

Alvarez doubled and scored as part of a two-run third inning by the Astros. He also walked and came around to score in the fourth inning. Alvarez is hitting .324 with a 1.079 OPS this year. He’s currently the favorite to win the AL MVP.

Alvarez put the Astros on the board early, taking Reid Detmers deep for a solo homer in the first inning. After drawing a walk in the seventh, he delivered a clutch hit in the top of the ninth, driving in the go-ahead run with a single. The 29-year-old slugger is slashing an MVP-worthy .325/.435/.647 with 35 homers, 74 runs scored, and 80 RBI across 469 plate appearances.

Alvarez is like an old school heavy-weight boxer. He leans on his opponents until he finds the opportunity to deliver the knockout blow. Then, he puts them to sleep. He and Sandy Alcantara had battled three times over the first seven innings of this game. Despite notching one hit, Alvarez put the ball on the ground three times, which is rare for him. He also swung at one of the first two pitches he saw in all three at-bats, also something he rarely does. In an increasingly odd fourth matchup with the same pitcher in the same game, Alvarez waited back until Alcantara’s third pitch and drove a fastball for an opposite field home run and a late lead the Astros wouldn’t give back. That brought him to 34 home runs and 77 RBI on the season, each now league-leading marks by just one. His .328 batting average is also best in the American League by a wide margin as he has the triple crown in his sights with just over two months of baseball left to play.

Alvarez’s three balls in play tonight checked in at 114.2, 113.8 and 108.3 mph. The AL MVP favorite is now tied with Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead with 33 homers. He’s second in the majors with a .324 average and 75 RBI and first with a 1.083 OPS.

Alvarez slugged his 19th double of the year off Andrew Kittredge in the 10th inning to tie the game 2-2. The Astros would go on to lose 4-2 in 11 innings. Alvarez, the 29-year-old MVP candidate, is hitting .320 with a 1.065 OPS and 72 RBI.

Alvarez’ home run was his 31st of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Kumar Rocker in the first inning. Alvarez is hitting .315 with a 1.055 OPS and 70 RBI with one game remaining before the All-Star break.

Alvarez put the Astros on the board in the first inning, taking Drew Rasmussen deep for a two-run homer. He drove in a third run with a single in the fifth, then brought a fourth run home with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, he took Casey Legumina deep for a walk-off, two-run blast. The 29-year-old slugger drew some deserved MVP chants after the game. He’s up to 29 homers, 62 runs scored, and 67 RBI while batting .324/.433/.645 across 388 plate appearances.

Alvarez was quite literally the extent of the Astros’ offense here. His solo home run accounted for their only run and one of their three total hits. That was his 27th home run and 61st RBI of the season as he further positions himself for a triple crown pursuit in the second half. Also, it didn’t show up in the box score, but had a 118.5 mph groundout in the eighth inning. That was the hardest hit ball of his impressive career.

This was just another day at the office for Alvarez. Three batted balls hit harder than 100 mph, three more hits, a walk, and he raised his batting average to .319 in the process. His season is still so ridiculously impressive as we approach the All-Star break that the Astros’ broadcast flashed a triple crown graphic during this game. With 26 home runs and 60 RBI to go with that .319 average – each of which are top-two in the American League – it’s not a crazy conversation to have.

Alvarez collected three hits against the Twins on Tuesday, but none bigger than his blast in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, he took Joe Ryan deep for a grand slam to highlight a six-run inning for Houston. The 29-year-old slugger is up to 26 homers, 59 runs scored, and 60 RBI while slashing .314/.428/.618 across 374 plate appearances.