The Texas Rangers seemingly have run out of answers for Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who has dominated the first three contests of the four-game series between the teams.
Alvarez has homered twice in back-to-back games for the Astros, who have won two of the three contests heading into the series finale on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas.
With five home runs in his last three games, Alvarez is tied with Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox for the American League lead with 20 homers.
Alvarez hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning on Wednesday as Houston recorded its fifth win in the past six games, 4-3.
In the ninth inning, the Rangers intentionally walked Alvarez with a runner on first.
“What’s Yordan is doing is next level,” Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena said. “He’s not just hitting home runs, but it’s the at-bats that he takes, the approach, his ability to square up every single pitch and hit it over 110 (mph). It’s pretty impressive to watch.”
Alvarez is the fifth player in franchise history to hit at least two homers in consecutive games, joining Jose Altuve (2023), Richard Hidalgo (2000), Moises Alou (2000) and Doug Rader (1973).
Alvarez is batting .312 this season, with 39 RBIs and a .663 slugging percentage.
“I mean, it’s hard to put into words (what Yordan is doing),” Houston pitcher Mike Burrows said. “He’s truly incredible. Incredible hitter, incredible outfielder, and incredible teammate. We can always count on him, and that’s great.”
Texas’ Joc Pederson matched Alvarez’s effort on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers. Pederson has gone deep three times in his last two games for Texas, which has lost five of its last six.
The pitching matchup for the series finale will feature a pair of right-handers as Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti (6-1, 1.32 ERA) faces the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi (5-5, 3.65).
Arrighetti, 26, continued his breakout season by pitching five scoreless innings in a 4-2 road victory over the Chicago Cubs last Friday. He earned the win despite issuing four walks and hitting two batters.
Arrighetti is the first Houston pitcher with an ERA of 1.32 or better through his first seven starts of a season since Justin Verlander (1.13) in 2018.
Arrighetti will face the Rangers for the second time this month after allowing one hit over 7 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-0 home win on May 15. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.68 in two career outings vs. Texas.
The Rangers will counter with Eovaldi, who has allowed a total of four runs over his last four starts covering 29 innings. The 36-year-old yielded three runs over seven frames in a 5-2 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels last Saturday.
Alvarez is 12-for-23 (.522) with two home runs against Eovaldi, who is 5-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 15 career starts vs. Houston.
Texas made a roster change on Wednesday, designating former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen for assignment and signing utility infielder Nicky Lopez, who went 0-for-3 in his debut.
“We’re at a point where given the injuries (in the infield), Nicky gives us another option and provides some versatility, which is needed right now, given where we are,” Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young said.
McCutchen, 39, who won the MVP Award with Pittsburgh in 2013, was batting only .192 in 37 games this season, with one homer and five RBIs.
–Field Level Media
