Yordan Alvarez nearing return amid Astros' scoring slump
The Houston Astros are desperately in need of some offense.
They've been shut out four times in their last five games, including last night's 1-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in 10 innings. Still, the Astros (69-57) hold a 1.5-game lead in the AL West and could soon be receiving a major offensive boost—star slugger Yordan Alvarez.
The 28-year-old lefty has been out of the lineup for more than three months due to a nagging hand injury. But on Tuesday, he finally began his rehab assignment.
Analyzing Alvarez's first rehab game
Alvarez, a three-time All-Star, immediately showed why he's been so important to Houston these past few years with a multi-hit game for Double-A Corpus Christi.
He drew a seven-pitch walk in his first at-bat of the day before swinging at a first-pitch strike in the seventh inning for a single. But the highlight of Alvarez's night came during his last plate appearance, when he drilled a double to left field.
Oh, and in addition to his two hits, he also recorded a steal. That's a good sign for Alvarez, who originally hurt his right hand swinging the bat during a game in April. He tried to play through the pain but was officially placed on the injured list on May 5.
Alvarez had a 'small fracture' of the fourth metacarpal in his hand, but the Astros didn't realize that until May 31 because of swelling and inflammation that clouded the injury.
Houston manager Joe Espada said Alvarez will rest today before playing in back-to-back games for Corpus Christi, per MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If he continues to look sharp, he could be activated this weekend for the Astros' series at Baltimore.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
26 minutes ago
The Engine: Alyssa Thomas driving new-look Phoenix Mercury near the top of WNBA standings
PHOENIX -- A marketing panel with Castrol landed Alyssa Thomas on a NASCAR hood. While attending the panel at the WNBA All-Star game last month, Thomas was approached by the motor oil company about putting her image on a NASCAR for an upcoming race. The Phoenix Mercury star loved the idea and helped in the design process, leading to her face making a 168-lap trip around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the hood of RFK Racing's No. 60 Castrol Ford, driven by Ryan Preece. 'It was a fitting pairing being that my nickname is The Engine,' Thomas said. 'Not too many people can say their face is on a car, let alone in a race, so it was a really cool experience.' The Mercury had a lot of unknowns heading into the 2025 season after Diana Taurasi retired and Brittney Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream. Thomas has been the driving force behind the Mercury's rise. Fitting in perfectly in first-year coach Nate Tibbets' pace-and-space style, Thomas has been stuffing stat sheets while the Mercury have racked up wins. Entering Wednesday's games, Phoenix was fourth in the WNBA standings at 21-13 after finishing 19-21 a year ago. 'She's the ultimate winner, she's the ultimate competitor,' Tibbetts said. 'She wants to win at everything.' Thomas was the three-time ACC player of the year at Maryland and an All-American her senior season before arriving in Connecticut in a draft-day trade with the New York Liberty in 2014. The 6-foot-2 forward spent her first 11 WNBA seasons with the Sun, twice leading them to the WNBA Finals while earning five All-Star nods. She's also made the all-WNBA team three times and the all-defensive team five times. Thomas arrived in the desert via an offseason sign-and-trade deal as a key part of the Mercury's rebuilding, which includes fellow newcomer Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper, Phoenix's leading scorer a year ago. 'It was a decision that I made,' Thomas said. 'In speaking with Nate and Nick (U'ren), I just felt it was a perfect fit for me and my game, and off the court as well.' Thomas has thrived. Already the WNBA's leader in triple-doubles, she has added five more with the Mercury, including a WNBA-record three straight this month. Thomas has 20 of the 52 triple-doubles in WNBA history and her four this month match the most of any other WNBA player's career. Thomas was named an All-Star for the sixth time in her first season with the Mercury and has become an MVP contender with some of the best numbers of her career. She's third in the WNBA with 8.6 rebounds per game and second on the Mercury at 16.1 points while shooting a career-high 54.3% from the floor. Thomas' biggest impact in Tibbetts' offense may be her playmaking. Despite having the size of an interior player, she's used her vision and court awareness to become the WNBA's most prolific distributing forward. Thomas set the WNBA single-season record for assists with 316 in 2023 and is seventh on the league's all-time assists list — the only forward in the top 10. While in Phoenix, she's nearly doubled her career assist average with a league-leading 9.0 this season — over five per game more than the next closest player. 'There's just so much space and I feel like it's a perfect fit for me,' Thomas said. 'It's been a long time since I've played with this many shooters.' The Engine has been revving all season and is taking the Mercury with her.
Newsweek
31 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Mets' Trade Deadline Addition Could Leave For Orioles After Latest Development
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The New York Mets acquired All-Star closer Ryan Helsley at the trade deadline, but he will be a free agent after the season. Helsley led all of baseball in saves last season with 49. He had 21 saves with the St. Louis Cardinals this year before he was traded. He has not been as sharp this season, though, and he has a 7.11 ERA with the Mets so far. The Baltimore Orioles will be without Felix Bautista all of next season after he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff. They lost their All-Star closer and could be in the market for a new one now. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 01: Ryan Helsley #56 of the New York Mets reacts after a strike out during the ninth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field... NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 01: Ryan Helsley #56 of the New York Mets reacts after a strike out during the ninth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on August 01, 2025 in New York City. MoreFanSided's Chris Landers tabbed Helsley as a fit for the Orioles now that Bautista is on the shelf for next season. "Helsley's fastball is getting uncharacteristically hit around right now, but it's still an electric offering when he's locating it, consistently cracking triple digits," wrote Landers. "The chase rate and K rate are still elite, and he just turned 31 last month. The odds are good that he'll be back to looking like an All-Star closer next season, and who knows, maybe his current struggles will depress his market a little bit." After making the postseason last year, the Orioles have had a terrible year this season. They could be looking to get back on track in a hurry, and adding a two-time All-Star closer to replace Bautista will help. Helsley also won the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award last season. More MLB: Red Sox Pitcher Has 4-Word Admission on Season as Troubles Persist
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Adjustments continue for Chicago White Sox rookie infielder Colson Montgomery: ‘Learn from each experience'
ATLANTA — Colson Montgomery did not play Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves as he recovered from left side soreness. The Chicago White Sox shortstop preferred to be in the lineup, but he made the most of the day off. 'These times where you can have maybe a day or two, you definitely go back and look at when you were rolling, when you were feeling good,' Montgomery said Tuesday. 'You're not trying to try something new, you are trying to re-create. You want to be as consistent as you can. 'I still feel pretty good. I think it's 'Angry August' for a reason. A lot of guys are feeling a little tired. But it's no excuse. It's a time where you can sit back and reflect on some things.' Montgomery was back in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale at Truist Park. 'Excited to have him back out there,' manager Will Venable said before Wednesday's game. 'Really just happy that this wasn't a major issue, and he was back feeling good.' Montgomery suffered the setback in the sixth inning of Monday's game, exiting shortly thereafter. 'Everything was precautionary (Monday),' Montgomery said. 'I don't know if it's something to do with the heat going on. It felt like a little cramp in the side. They weren't going to take the risk.' He went 0-for-3 with a walk before leaving Monday's 13-9 win. While the rookie entered Wednesday tied for sixth in majors since the All-Star break in RBIs (26) and home runs (10), he went 2-for-16 in the first four games during the road trip with a double, two runs and a walk. 'With his year, and he'd probably be transparent about it, with his early struggles (in the minors) and his ability to make adjustments and go through that — I think he's well positioned to be here,' Venable said. 'And now, having cooled off, to figure out what he needs to do to get back to performing at the level that he knows he can.' Over the final month-plus of the season, Montgomery is focusing on his health and staying as consistent as he can with his at-bats. 'Sometimes you show you can do damage (at the plate), they will try to see if you chase and things like that,' Montgomery said. 'Sticking more to my plan and my approach rather than what they want to do to me. That's the difference in sometimes you going into an at-bat and you know what they are going to do, but you have to know what you want to do. 'I think that's been my thing. Sometimes I go in there and I know they are going to try to do something and so I get away from what I want to do.' Montgomery has noticed opponents pitching him backward. '(They) start offspeed and try to steal strikes with fastballs late in the count,' Montgomery said. '(And) try to change my eye level with a lot of things. The biggest thing for me is just trying to stay tall, stay to center field, left-center, kind of think line drive through the shortstop.' Adjustments, as Montgomery is well aware, are part of the game. 'He started (hitting) fastballs in the zone right away, and I think that they pretty quickly got off of that, and we've seen a lot of changeups, a lot of sliders below the zone,' Venable said. 'We've seen maybe a little more chase, and I think also, with where he was out with his swing, maybe missing some of those fastballs early in the count, and then having to deal with offspeed stuff later, it's been a little bit of an adjustment. 'But that's what it is. We know that you come up in this league, you've got a couple of days to sneak attack some people, and then they start figuring you out, and then it's your turn to make an adjustment. And it's not going to stop for the next 12 years or however long he plays.' Montgomery had a .220/.285/.492 slash line with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs in 38 games coming into Wednesday. He said the experiences since being called up on July 4 have 'been awesome.' 'Definitely experienced a lot of things from the highs and the lows, from winning to losing,' Montgomery said. 'I always keep saying, you just have to learn from each experience. 'It's all just going to help in the future.' The Sox placed right-handed pitcher Elvis Peguero on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain, the team announced Wednesday. He allowed two runs on one hit with two walks in one-third of an inning during Tuesday's 11-10 loss to the Braves. In Wednesday's corresponding move, the Sox recalled right-hander Wikelman González from Triple-A Charlotte. He has a 2.25 ERA and six strikeouts in five relief appearances over three stints with the Sox this season.
