In the midst of a battle to remain in the playoff picture, the Houston Astros may have lost slugger Yordan Alvarez to a gnarly ankle injury. Alvarez, who missed almost three months in the middle of the season, twisted his ankle very awkwardly as he cross home plate in the first inning of Houston’s 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers.
Alvarez will undergo an MRI today, Sept. 16. The Astros missed their slugger with a fracture in his right hand from May 2 until a few weeks ago when he returned on Aug. 26.
The Astros recently dropped out of the AL West lead and now occupy the third and final Wild Card spot, though their win over the Rangers last night gave them some breathing room in front of them and the Cleveland Guardians.
In 48 games in his stunted season, Alvarez is batting .273 with six home runs and 27 RBI. As one of the marquee sluggers in the MLB, if he misses significant time (which looks likely after seeing his ankle twist the way it did), the Astros may be in a predicament heading into the home stretch.
Rookie Zach Cole Shines As Alvarez’s Replacement
The Astros inserted rookie Zach Cole into the lineup after Alvarez’s early injury forced him out of the game, and provided a spark to the Houston offense.
Cole made his MLB debut just a few days ago on Sept. 12, when he homered in his first big league game against the Braves.
Monday night, when the Astros needed a spark more than ever as they trailed the Rangers 3-2 in the fifth inning, Cole delivered in a big way. With a runner on first and two outs in the inning, Cole hammered a two-run shot to give his team a 4-3 lead heading into the late innings, igniting Daikin Park.
Cole delivered in the clutch again in the seventh inning with an RBI single to extend the Houston lead to 6-3, where the score remained for the rest of the night.
Cole spent nearly four full seasons progressing through the Astros system until he was finally called up to the big club last week. He has taken his opportunity and made the most of it, as he has gone 6-for-13 in his four games with Houston, tallying two homers and seven RBI. Cole has a real shot at finding himself in the starting lineup in the playoffs is Alvarez can’t return.
Astros Win Over Texas Allows For Breathing Room
The Astros entered Monday night’s game against Texas with the Rangers breathing down their backs in the standings, two games back of the final Wild Card berth. Houston’s win now puts them three games ahead of the Rangers, and as long as they win one of the next two games in the series, the Astros will have gone a long way towards ensuring their safety and really hurting Texas’ playoff hopes.
The Astros are also working to fend off the red-hot Cleveland Guardians, who are also three games behind them in the Wild Card standings. Cleveland has a few tough tests coming up with six games against the Detroit Tigers and three against the Rangers.
Astros Awaiting News on Yordan Alvarez Injury: ‘Did Not Look Good’