Astros: Kyle Tucker the valve let off for Yordan Alvarez

The Houston Astros need to let off some steam with the loss of Yordan Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker is just the guy for the job.

When Alex Bregman angrily left the game against the Colorado Rockies due to injury, Houston Astros fans had to feel the frustration pent up, about to burst. We’d just been hit with the news that Yordan Alvarez would be shut down for the year to undergo surgery on his patellar tendon, and now Bregman looked to have sustained a serious injury too.

When Bregman left the game, it was 1-1 and I was already plotting my way into posts about who needs to step up in Alvarez’s and Bregman’s absences (that post is still coming). It was just a few hours later that it was 11-1.

While the game ran unnecessarily long due to bullpen issues and finished 13-6, the point remains the same—this offense broke out at a time when it needed it most.

Kyle Tucker let the pressure off the Astros in a big way

With Bregman and Alvarez injured, a let-off was needed. Some way to release the pent up steam causing us fans so much stress.

Kyle Tucker turned that valve.

Tucker has been a frustrating case in and of himself. We’ve seen his potential, we’ve seen his ability across the board, with speed, power, and everything in between, we just haven’t seen it at the big league level.

That changed in a hurry.

Kyle Tucker didn’t just poke the ball through a couple of gaps. He smacked the hell out of the ball. He ended the game going 4-5 with four RBIs, three runs, two triples, a home run, and most importantly (drum roll please)—zero strikeouts!

I’m going to dive deeper into his plate discipline in this particular game soon, but if the streaky nature of Tucker has been waiting for the pivot to turn more towards the positive, this was it. This young man spearheaded the offensive charge of a battered team and his teammates followed suit. Carlos Correa was not far behind, Taylor Jones got his first big league hit and RBI, Abraham Toro was smacking the ball.

Even George Springer and Jose Altuve, two guys we really need to see get going, got going.

But Kyle Tucker was the prince of the game. The exact antidote to the situation we’re currently in. For a lot of these guys, we know what we can expect. For Tucker, the time is now to give us something like what we got out of Alvarez.