Yordan Alvarez is officially out of the Houston Astros’ starting lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Rays, a day after the slugger turned his right ankle running the bases in Philadelphia. Talk about a gut punch. Manager Joe Espada didn’t rule out Alvarez being available off the bench, which is a tiny bit of good news, but the main man isn’t starting.
Ankle Scare Hits Hard
This whole thing went down Thursday when Alvarez was hustling first-to-third on a Jose Altuve double in the eighth inning against the Phillies. He tweaked that right ankle arriving at the bag. A trainer checked him out briefly, and Alvarez stayed in the game for a hot minute, but he never got another at-bat after the inning ended. Espada’s trying to play it cool, saying he’s “not concerned” and that imaging wasn’t even “necessary” for the ankle. He’s calling it “day-to-day.” But come on, when your biggest slugger, who anchors your entire lineup, is sitting out, it’s a big deal. Especially on that St. Pete turf tonight!
MVP Numbers Slow Down
We all know what Alvarez brings: the guy is absolutely crushing it this season, leading the majors in OPS and sitting as the likely AL MVP frontrunner. He’s even a legit Triple Crown candidate, leading all qualified AL hitters with a .310 batting average while sitting second in home runs with 38, just one behind Junior Caminero, and second in RBIs with 96, one back of Pete Alonso. He leads the majors in on-base percentage, slugging, total bases, and OPS-plus. Plus, he just became only the seventh Astro ever to rack up 100 walks in a season. Seriously, elite stuff.
But here’s the kicker: his power numbers have actually been slowing down hard since the trade deadline. Over 34 games, he’s only slashed .244/.378/.387 with a measly three homers. He went 7-for-33 with just three extra-base hits and two RBIs in his first nine September games. August saw his lowest slugging and highest chase rates of the year! So this ankle injury comes at an already weird time. Alvarez has set a career high in plate appearances, and Friday marks just the third time he’s been out of the starting lineup in 148 games. The guy has been a workhorse.
What’s Next For Houston’s Lead?
Espada actually believes this enforced rest day, even for these “suboptimal reasons,” could benefit Alvarez in the long run. “I think so, and I hope so,” he said, acknowledging the grind. It’s clear they want him back strong, especially since they’ve got that three-game lead in the American League. The Astros’ offense did manage 15 runs in that Philly series, with Cam Smith hitting three dingers and Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker combining for ten RBIs. It shows they can get it done without Alvarez being superhuman. Still, you gotta wonder how long they can cruise with their biggest bat potentially limited. All eyes are on that ankle.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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