Rob Issa, FISM News
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Yordan Alvarez is quickly turning into Houston’s Mr. October.
After hitting a walk-off homer to cap a comeback win for Houston in Game 1 on Tuesday, Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Mariners ace Luis Castillo to help the Astros beat Seattle 4-2 on Thursday.
Yordan Álvarez is only programmed to make the lives of opposing pitchers absolutely miserable. #Astros #postseason pic.twitter.com/maTynyr3XQ
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) October 13, 2022
The Astros lead the AL Division Series 2-0 and will try to complete a sweep on Saturday when the series shifts to Seattle.
“I call him Grande,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He comes up big. We love having him at the plate. He likes to be in the big moment. His concentration and discipline is way ahead of his years.”
After Jeremy Peña hit a bloop single, Alvarez drove a 98 mph pitch the opposite way out to left.
“He threw a ball 3 or 4 inches off the plate and he hits a home run to the opposite field,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s that kind of talent.”
Alvarez is the first player in postseason history to hit multiple go-ahead homers in the sixth inning or later with his team trailing.
Two innings later, the Mariners walked Alvarez with two outs rather than give him another chance to do maximum damage with the score 3-2, but Alex Bregman made them pay.
The Mariners walked Yordan Alvarez with two outs to get to Alex Bregman.
Bregman made ‘em pay.@MLB | @Astros pic.twitter.com/dCn85WmurJ
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) October 13, 2022
Kyle Tucker also homered for the Astros, who trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Astros starter Framber Valdez gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Lance McCullers Jr. will start for Houston in Game 3. McCullers made just eight starts this season after missing the first four months of the year with a forearm strain.
Rookie George Kirby will pitch for the Mariners. Kirby pitched in relief in Game 2 of the wild-card round.
Game 2 of the Guardians-Yankees American League division series was rained out. It’ll be played Friday afternoon at Yankees Stadium in New York.
All-Star left-hander Nestor Cortes is scheduled to pitch for the AL East champion Yankees, who lead the series 1-0. Cleveland will send 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber to the mound as they look to even up the series.
Next Up
All times Eastern
Today:
Yankees (1-0) vs. Guardians (0-1), 1:07 p.m., TBS
Phillies (1-1) vs. Braves (1-1), 4:37 p.m., FS1
Padres (1-1) vs. Dodgers (1-1), 8:37 p.m., FS1
Saturday:
Phillies vs. Braves, 2:07 p.m., FS1
Mariners (0-2) vs. Astros (2-0), 4:07 p.m., TBS
Guardians vs. Yankees, 7:37 p.m., TBS
Padres vs. Dodgers, 9:37 p.m., FS1