Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez injured his left ankle crossing home plate Monday night, leaving Houston without its All-Star during a critical juncture of the AL West race.
However, rookie Zach Cole hit a 2-run home run after replacing Álvarez in the lineup, leading the Astros to a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers. With the win, Houston closes to within a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. The Rangers also fall three games behind the Astros for the American League’s third wild-card playoff berth.
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Álvarez’s injury took place in the bottom of the first inning. He scored standing up after a Carlos Correa single and a throwing error allowed him to reach home plate from first base.
He appeared to slip on home plate as he touched it and hobbled toward the Astros dugout, unable to slow his momentum. He was in immediate and obvious pain and needed help limping down the stairs into the dugout.
The Astros later announced that he’d sustained a sprained left ankle and exited the game. The severity of the sprain was not initially clear.
Yet on Monday, Cole replaced Álvarez in the lineup nicely, batting 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Will Álvarez be able to play in critical late-season series?
An injury of any significance to Álvarez would mark a blow to the Astros with 12 games remaining in the season amid a tight race atop the AL West.
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Álvarez is 18 games removed from his return from a nearly four-month layoff with a hand fracture. He’d previously been sidelined since May 3 due to the injury that was initially diagnosed as a muscle strain. The Astros expected Álvarez to miss a few weeks until imaging on May 31 revealed that he’d actually sustained a bone fracture.
Álvarez returned to Houston’s lineup on Aug. 26 with the Astros engaged in a heated race for the AL West crown. Houston had a 1.5-game lead over the Seattle Mariners for first place at the time of his return. They entered Monday’s game trailing Seattle by one game and leading the Rangers by two.
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The Astros have two games remaining after Monday’s win in their series with Texas. From there, they’ll play a three-game series with the Mariners that could determine the AL West crown.
Alvarez was an All-Star in each season from 2022 to ’24. He led the Astros in 2024 with a .308 batting average, 35 home runs and 86 RBI. He has received MVP votes in each of the past three seasons and won a Silver Slugger in 2022 while finishing third in AL MVP voting.
Álvarez has also come up clutch in the postseason throughout his career. In 60 career playoff games, he has slashed .294/.393/.591 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. He was named ALCS MVP in 2021 as the Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox to advance to the World Series.
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