Astros’ Yordan Alvarez hits 5th homer, but not enough in 10-6 loss

Astros’ Yordan Alvarez gets his 5th home run in nine games and adds a run-scoring double in the ninth. But they come up short, losing 10-6 to the Yankees.

The bats of the Astros woke up last night, but it was too little, too late. Alvarez wasn’t the only batter displaying power last night as Houston collected four homers. They had twelve hits on the night but left nine runners on base. Houston was just playing catch-up ball all night after the Yankees exploded for 0six runs in the fourth inning.

Alvarez continues to show why he belongs up here in the Big Leagues. His 2-for-5 evening puts his team-leading slash line at .343/.439/.829 with an OPS of 1.268. In the nine games Alvarez has appeared in, he’s amassed 12 hits, 9 runs, and 11 RBIs. Not a bad start to his young career.

Jake Marisnick contributed with two dingers in his 3-for-4 performance, breaking his nearly month-long home run drought. They were his 7th and 8th homers on the year and he now has 27 runs scored and 19 RBIs. Alex Bregman added his 21st homer of the season in a back-to-back set with Marisnick in the top of the fifth, opening up the scoring for the Astros.

Framber Valdez had his worst start in his career allowing five earned runs in 3.1 innings. It all became unraveled in the fourth when Gary Sanchez hit a lead-off homer. That was followed up by a Giancarlo Stanton double and a walk to Edwin Encarnacion. Then Gleyber Torres stepped up and cleared the bases with a three-run shot. Two batters later Valdez issued another walk and that was it for him for the night.

Josh James would give up two more runs in the fifth on two hits and a walk, raising his ERA for the year to 4.93. Rogelio Armenteros made his second career appearance pitching the final two innings of the game. He surrendered a two-run homer to Edwin Encarnacion in the seventh.

It was nice to see the bats heat up some for the Astros and it was also good to see Jose Altuve get his first hit since returning from the Injured List. Unfortunately, the Yankees got the best of them with more efficient hitting. Hopefully, Houston can break this five-game losing streak tonight behind the pitching of Brad Peacock.