Alvarez blasts 40th HR as 5 Astros go deep to move into 1st in AL West

HOUSTON -- Is the American League Most Valuable Player race now a two-person competition between the Rays’ Junior Caminero and Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez?

Not so fast, Alvarez’s manager Joe Espada and his teammates said Thursday, after the Astros slugger slammed his 40th homer of the season in a 6-2 win over the Royals at Daikin Park. Alvarez became the fifth player in franchise history to reach that mark.

“Obviously, Yordan is our horse,” said Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña, who went 8-for-13 with three homers during the three-game series vs. the Royals. “When he goes we go. He’s been doing it all year. He’s been carrying us all year and he’s a key piece in the lineup.”

Peña’s second leadoff homer in three games Thursday made him the fifth Astros player this year to reach 20 homers, joining Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, Cam Smith and Christian Walker.

The Astros clubbed a season-high five home runs -- all solo shots -- with Alvarez taking Seth Lugo deep in the fifth to join Caminero (41) as the only players in the AL with at least 40 homers this year. Alvarez is tied with the Rays' Chandler Simpson in AL batting average (.311) and is second in RBIs (99) behind the Orioles’ Pete Alonso (102), so a Triple Crown is still very much within reach.

Alvarez went 4-for-10 in the Royals series with two homers following a 35-game stretch in which he slashed just .242/.380/.383 with three homers (since Aug. 3) to allow Caminero to close the gap in the MVP race.

“Our club, without him, would be a completely different record,” said Espada. “Credit to our players. This is a team, everybody contributes, but without Yordan we could be in a completely different spot. That’s why he’s the MVP to this team and he’s the Most Valuable Player to this league. I’m very biased. This guy from day one has done it. He’s gotten the biggest hits for us. Without him we couldn’t be in first place. We couldn’t be in this position.”

The Astros (77-76) moved one game ahead of the second-place Rangers in the American League West after Texas lost 4-3 to the Red Sox on Thursday, with nine games remaining. Houston owns the tiebreaker.

Alvarez’s 40th homer put the Astros up 4-1. LaMonte Wade Jr. had a solo shot of his own earlier in the inning, following Peña's leadoff homer in the first inning and Daulton Varsho's blast in the second. Taylor Trammell added a solo homer in the eighth.

Alvarez is the first Astros player to hit 40 long balls in a season since Alex Bregman had 41 in 2019. Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell, the franchise’s all-time home run leader, had 42 homers in 1999, 43 in ‘97 and a franchise-record 47 in 2000. Lance Berkman had 42 in 2002 and 45 in ‘06, and Richard Hidalgo had 44 in 2000.

“It’s special because last year he dealt with a lot of injuries and a lot of people -- I'm not going to say they forgot about him -- but they kind of did,” Peña said. “They kind of forgot about Yordan. He took it personally. He took it upon himself to take care of his body this year and stay on the field and stay healthy and he knows when he’s healthy he can put up MVP numbers. He’s shown it this year and it’s special to watch.”

Trammell noticed a different look in Alvarez from the beginning of the spring. He saw something in the way he carried himself that had Trammell believing that Alvarez was going to have a big season, after playing in only 48 games in 2025 due to injuries.

In Trammell’s mind, there’s no doubt who the MVP is.

“Where we are right now, I don't think it would be there without him,” Trammell said. “And I think that's one of the best compliments that you can get from the players. He puts his guys ahead of him, but hitting .300 [average] and hitting 40 [home runs], those are video-game numbers. I can’t even do that in 'The Show.'

"I'm not discrediting anybody. There's a lot of guys in that MVP race that are really good, but when he comes up to the plate every single time, we have a good chance to win or get back in the game or whatever it is. And every time he's just clutch.”