Alvarez Homers, Gains Ground in AL Triple Crown Bid
The short version
- Alvarez went 2 for 4 with his 41st homer and three RBIs in Houston's 7-0 win at Seattle
- He is tied with Junior Caminero for the AL home run lead and leads the league in average at .314
- His 102 RBIs are six behind Pete Alonso's AL-best total
- The Astros pulled even with the Rangers atop the AL West with five games to play
- No Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012
Yordan Alvarez's two-hit, three-RBI performance against Seattle moved him closer to an American League Triple Crown with five games remaining.
Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez strengthened his case for the American League Triple Crown on Tuesday, going 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs in a 7-0 road victory over the Seattle Mariners. The 29-year-old opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single, drew an intentional walk in the second, and connected on a 386-foot, two-run blast to right in the eighth that left his bat at 109.5 mph.
The home run, his 41st, pulled him even with Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero for the AL lead. Alvarez also tops the league with a .314 batting average, five points clear of the Rays' Chandler Simpson, and his 102 RBIs trail only Baltimore's Pete Alonso, who hit two homers and drove in three against Toronto before rain forced a split doubleheader in Baltimore.
The win pulled the Astros (78-79) into a dead heat with Texas for first place in the AL West with five contests left. Alvarez, described by teammates as reserved, called a team meeting after Houston was swept by Atlanta and surrendered the division lead earlier in the week.
"He's been backing it up all year," manager Joe Espada said. First baseman Christian Walker added that he keeps asking himself why opposing pitchers challenge Alvarez, calling him dangerous every time he steps in.
No player has captured a Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, and Alvarez leads the AL in slugging (.601), OPS (1.032), total bases (329) and walks (106). His 33rd intentional walk of the year, issued by Logan Gilbert, set a franchise mark. If he claims the MVP, the four-time All-Star — limited to 48 games in 2025 by a broken hand and ankle injury — would join the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani as the only primary DHs to win the award.
