It doesn’t really take much science to say that “getting 3-for-5 with a walk-off home run to help your club come back from a 7-3 deficit” is a very excellent thing to do, therefore Yordan Alvarez had a tremendously helpful night in Houston’s shocking Game 1 victory.
What if, though, we told you that according to our fancy statistics, this was the most significant postseason game and experience ever for a position player?
What if we also told you that those figures don’t even include all Alvarez just accomplished? It wasn’t merely a dominating or memorable game. The event was historic.
What happened at the memorable match?
The Houston Astros already felt like victors at Minute Maid Park, but a well-done home run by Cuban outfielder Yordan Alvarez with two players on base had already marked a victory for them of 8-7 and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
Robbie Ray was tasked with stopping the Astros’ final batter or batters. However, Alvarez had other ideas and hit a home run that represented three runs, giving the home crowd a clear victory to celebrate their team’s victory.
Alvarez’s historic hits at the game
In each of his first three at-bats, the Astros slugger hit a home run, including a 464-foot one in his third. Alvarez has 36 home runs, which ties him for third place in baseball behind Kyle Schwarber (57) and Aaron Judge (38).
His home runs all traveled at least 430 feet. He is the first individual to hit three of these home homers since 2019, according to ESPN. During his fourth, he singled.
The Astros have participated in five consecutive ALCSs and have advanced to the World Series in 2017, 2019, and 2021. They took it home in 2017, but it was also the year they were convicted of what may have been the largest sign-stealing scandal in baseball history.
A controversial change in pitching
With two outs, Mariners manager Scott Servais substituted closer Pat Sewald for Ray in an apparent attempt to set up a left-on-left matchup with Alvarez. After hitting David Hensley with a pitch and allowing Jeremy Pea to single up the middle to put runners on first and second, Sewald had already left two runners on base in the inning.
In an unusual relief appearance, Ray, the current AL Cy Young Award winner, and regular starter gave Alvarez a home run on his second pitch. He has previously made four relief appearances over the course of ten MLB seasons, but none had been before 2020.
Alvarez leads the BBWAA Awards
The Houston branch of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America selected Yordan Alvarez as the Astros Pitcher of the Year after he went 18-4 and recorded a career-best 1.75 ERA.
In addition, catcher Martín Maldonado received the Darryl Kile Good Guy of the Year award, shortstop Jeremy Pea was named the team’s 2022 Rookie of the Year, and Marian Harper, a longtime Astros employee and the vice president of foundation development, received the Fred Hartman Long and Meritorious Service Award.
Alvarez, a 2022 All-Star who won this award for the first time ever, was an offensive powerhouse this season, finishing second in the American League in OPS, slugging, and on-base percentage while placing third in home runs and tied for fifth in RBIs. After batting.418 in 23 games with nine home runs and 28 RBIs, he was named the AL Player of the Month in June.
Well, it seems like baseball has a lot more to give to Yordan Alvarez. What can we expect from the star in the upcoming seasonal games? Guess we will see.