NewzSEATTLE (AP) — Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez gained some ground Tuesday night in his chase for a Triple Crown.He still has plenty of work to do this week.The AL MVP front-runner went 2 for 4 with his 41st home run and three RBIs in the Astros' 7-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. Alvarez hit an RBI single in the first inning, was intentionally walked in the second and then belted a 386-foot homer in the eighth with a 109.5 mph exit velocity.“At this point, I keep wondering why guys are pitching to him,” Houston first baseman Christian Walker said. “He just seems to come through in every moment.
He's dangerous at the plate right now.”Alvarez, who is quiet and shows little emotion, orchestrated a team meeting after the Astros (78-79) were swept by Atlanta on Sunday, squandering their lead in the AL West. His performance on Tuesday was much-needed to put Houston in a tie with the Texas Rangers atop the division with five games left this season.“He's been backing it up all year,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.Alvarez's two-run shot to right field tied him with Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League lead with 41 homers. Alvarez is first in batting average at .314 — five points ahead of Tampa Bay's Chandler Simpson — and he has 102 RBIs, six behind Baltimore Orioles slugger Pete Alonso for most in the AL.Alonso drove in three runs with two homers Monday against Toronto, but the teams were rained out Tuesday in Baltimore because of bad weather.
They are scheduled to play a split doubleheader Wednesday.Alvarez has six homers since Aug. 1, and the 29-year-old designated hitter has eight RBIs over 17 games in September. He'll need more to become baseball’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.Alvarez leads the AL in slugging percentage (.601), OPS (1.032), total bases (329) and walks (106).
Logan Gilbert intentionally walked Alvarez in the second inning Tuesday, which was the 33rd time for Alvarez this season, already a franchise record.It’s been a historic season for the four-time All-Star after he was limited to 48 games in 2025 because of a broken hand and an ankle injury.If he wins the AL MVP award, the Cuban slugger will join Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only players to win an MVP award while primarily serving as a designated hitter. Othani was close to winning a Triple Crown in 2024 after leadin… SEATTLE (AP) — Yordan Alvarez resumed his Triple Crown push with a home run and three RBIs as the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 7-0 on Tuesday night to pull even with Texas atop the AL West.Houston snapped a three-game skid and tied the Rangers at 78-79 following their 6-3 loss to the New York Mets at home.
Both teams have five games remaining, and the Astros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.Seattle (73-84) is on the brink of playoff elimination, one season after winning the AL West for the first time in 24 years and coming within one victory of the franchise's first World Series appearance.Alvarez hit a two-run drive to right field in the eighth inning to tie Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League lead with 41 homers. Alvarez is first in batting average at .314 and he has 102 RBIs, six behind Baltimore Orioles slugger Pete Alonso for most in the AL.Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012 was the most recent hitter to win a Triple Crown by leading his league in all three of those statistical categories.Alvarez hit an RBI single in the first to reach 100 RBIs for the second time in his career. Christian Walker belted a three-run homer to make it 4-0 in the third, and Isaac Paredes added a solo shot in the sixth.It was the 200th home run of Walker's career and his 26th this season.Cam Smith snapped an 0-for-26 skid with a double.Houston starter Cristian Javier was removed after two innings with right groin tightness.
Miguel Ullola (1-0) followed with two innings of one-hit ball for his first major league win.Bennett Sousa, AJ Blubaugh and Logan VanWey completed the four-hitter.Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (12-11) lasted only four innings, yielding four runs on 10 hits — the most hits he's allowed in a game this season.Up nextRookie right-hander Ethan Pecko (1-0, 3.77 ERA) makes his fifth major league start Wednesday for Houston against Seattle RHP George Kirby (9-11, 4.24).___This story has been corrected to show that Alvarez homered in the eighth inning.___See AP’s full MLB coverage here
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