Astros: Yordan Alvarez’s Saturday homer puts him at the top

Yordan Alvarez launched his 50th home run of his career on Saturday, making him the fastest Houston Astro of all-time to reach the feat.

Another game led to another home run for the Houston Astros, as they now sit at 17 games in a row with a long ball. But with Yordan Alvarez sending his 22nd ball over the outfield wall this season, he stands alone at the top in franchise history.

Alvarez slammed his only hit of Saturday night in the fourth inning off of Michael Pineda, as the left-hander added to the cause:

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While being his 50th career home run, Alvarez puts him at the top of franchise history. It took only the left-hander 184 games to reach the mark, as Lance Berkman (231 games) and George Springer (241 games) sit behind him. Both of these players didn’t and won’t player their full careers in Houston, but if Alvarez is locked down, the left-hander has a clear shot of catching Jeff Bagwell at 449 for the franchise record.

Alvarez has come into his own, even with a season-ending injury in 2020. The 24-year-old is one of the least spoken about stars of the game, due to his non-flashy persona. But with a long career ahead of him, Alvarez will soon be a household name.

While inducting Lance Berkman, César Cedeño, Roy Hofheinz, Roy Oswalt, Billy Wagner and Bob Watson into the Astros’ Hall of Fame, the current employees of the organization blanked the Minnesota Twins, 4-0. While taking their first win of the series, Luis Garcia found a rhythm off the rubber once again, but this time Jason Castro was behind the dish.

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This change in the backstop could be a possible factor, while manager Dusty Baker looks to flip jobs and give Martin Maldonado, Jake Odorizzi, who struggled last week in Los Angeles. Baker has been one to try out new things, while Castro’s playing time has also increased mightily. The Astros are in back in action on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. with Lance McCullers Jr. countering right-hander Kenta Maeda.

In other roster news, Jose Altuve will have Sunday off, as Aledmys Diaz will start at second base and anticipating Jacob Wilson to make his Astros’ debut at third base. Jose Urquidy threw his first bullpen as well, since hitting the injured list over a month ago, and Brooks Raley had his suspension reduced to two games, leaving him out for the rest of the series this weekend.