The Philadelphia Phillies take on the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park. Interim manager Don Mattingly spoke about the challenge of facing American League MVP frontrunner Yordan Alvarez.
“What is not the challenge of Yordan?” Mattingly asked Dave Uram of 94 WIP. “If you look at the numbers, he handles all zones, all pitches. You’ve got to be very careful with him.
“He’s been this way for a long time; this year seems to be better than ever. But he’s always been a guy you feel like there aren’t a lot of places to go; you can’t do the same things over and over again with him. He makes adjustments. So he’s a handful.”
Phillies Face Challenge of Containing Yordan Alvarez’s Bat
How the Phillies handle Yordan Alvarez will determine how successful they are in the series. He’s having one of the best hitting seasons in MLB history, slashing .314/.432/.599 with 38 home runs and a 180 wRC+.
Simply put, he leads the American League in nearly every consequential hitting statistic. And the Phillies may need to give him the Barry Bonds treatment ot beat the Astros. In some situations, they may have to take the decision away from the pitcher and put him on instead.
Houston is very reliant on their MVP candidate being the main engine of their offense. But the reality is, he’ll still get his when pitchers make mistakes.
What the Phillies can do to mitigate that is keying the guys in front of and behind him out. So while everyone circles Alvarez as the key at-bats, the two hitters the Phillies need to shut down are Jeremy Pena and Isaac Paredes.
By doing that, the Phillies ensure that Alvarez can’t put up a crooked number and that putting him on base will not come back to haunt them.
Phillies Take on First-Place Astros at the Bank
In addition to Alvarez, the Astros are a dangerous first-place team. While their record is only 73-71, they have talent in the right spots to beat anyone in any given series. Houston climbed out of a brutal start to the season and has a strong chance of taking the American League West division.
In addition to Alvarez, they have a frontline starter in Hunter Brown and an elite closer in Josh Hader. Brown is expected to face off against Cristopher Sanchez in the series’ second game.
“That’s a club that they’re fighting for their division,” said Mattingly. “They’re kind of like us; they got to win every game. Their team just lines up, got good pitching, and they play the game, so they’re going to be a handful.”
This matchup should have another postseason-like series in what’s been a critical stretch of games for Philadelphia. It gives the Phillies a nice litmus test heading into a do-or-die series against the Braves at Truist Park. However, they shouldn’t take the Astros for granted with a bigger series on deck.
Phillies Manager Makes Honest Yordan Alvarez Statement Before Astros Series