Yordan Álvarez return can’t hide the Astros’ ugly truth (and silly miscue didn't help)

The much-discussed return of Yordan Álvarez finally happened on Tuesday, but it didn't spark the immediate turnaround that some Houston Astros fans hoped it would.

It was an ugly 6-1 loss for the Astros to the Colorado Rockies, baseball's worst team, and Álvarez went hitless through his first four plate appearances. He drew two walks, but if anything, his return was a reminder of the struggles he had before landing on the injured list in early May.

Even before Álvarez's return, the Astros haven't been playing a clean form of baseball. The Astros' offense has been struggling to score runs, the pitching staff has been showing warts after suffering endless injuries, and the fundamentals have been missing when the team is playing defense.

Yordan Alvarez can’t distract from the Astros’ glaring issue (and this didn’t help)

It was a fielding and throwing error from the normally sure-handed Astros' shortstop Jeremy Pena that put waste to a Hunter Brown start. Brown pitched into the seventh inning and struck out seven, but Pena's errors led to four unearned runs on his ledger.

In other words, Alvarez's return certainly has the potential to spark a turnaround for the scuffling Astros, but some larger concerns remain with this team.

The largest issue currently facing the Astros is an inability to score runs. En route to their one run on Tuesday, the Astros were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 runners on base. Given the larger concerns the Astros have at the backend of their starting rotation and in their bullpen, the offense not converting scoring opportunities has the potential to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

When it comes to the push for the postseason, the Astros remain on track to be playing in October. The Astros have a 1½-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the division. The path to the postseason remains in sight, but Alvarez's return doesn't hide the other issues facing this team. They must be addressed if the Astros want to be viewed as a legitimate contender.

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