It was another hectic night for the Houston Astros, as the boys in orange entered a hostile atmosphere at Dodger Stadium. Lance McCullers Jr. was dealing, while Los Angeles Dodgers‘ fans were hurling beers through the stands hitting anyone who stood in their way.
It has been four years since the 2017 World Series, and while this was the first time that the Dodgers had the opportunity to host the Astros since, they couldn’t bring home a win. A three-run shutout kept the underdogs from losing game one of the series to the juggernaut of Los Angeles.
After a two-run slam on Tuesday, it is evident that Yordan Alvarez was the only thing stolen from the Dodgers.
In 2016, general manager Jeff Luhnow and the front office had expressed interest in Yordan Alvarez, who was an international free agent. With a limited amount of spending leftover, the Astros couldn’t reel in the Cuban left-hander.
Alvarez signed with the Dodgers, but never appeared in their minor-league system. Most know the story now about how the Astros traded Josh Fields for Alvarez on August 1, 2016, while the Dodgers’ front office showed no intention of hanging onto the future Rookie of the Year.
With that in mind, the left-hander dropped a two-run shot in the top of the eighth inning against his first employer with an exit velocity of 115 MPH:
Larry Brown wrote an article stating that McCullers was displeased with Alvarez, who rarely shows emotion, staring down his home run ball, which is downright comedic. Of all the pitchers on the staff, no one shows more energy or excitement than McCullers, so why in the world would he be mad about Alvarez pimping his slam? It was Alvarez’s first hit against his former organization, and it came in the best possible situation.
The Astros are back in action to close out the two-game series on Wednesday at 8:40 p.m. with Jake Odorizzi countering new acquisition Max Scherzer. Yuli Gurriel, who was scratched from the lineup right before game time, is expected to be back on the field on Wednesday.