MVP Yordan? Slugger makes history with two homers, 6 RBIs in 1st inning

KANSAS CITY -- You don’t have to bleed orange and blue or prefer the barbecue in Texas over what they serve in Kansas City to appreciate greatness on the baseball field when you see it.

Perhaps that’s why there was audible buzz in Kauffman Stadium on Friday night while Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was trotting around the bases after he connected on a grand slam in the first inning -- his second home run of the inning -- to cap a nine-run outburst that sent the Astros to a 10-8 win over the Royals.

Alvarez is putting together the kind of season that’s reserved for legends, and his two-homer, six-RBI first inning had everyone in awe. Alvarez, who went 3-for-5 with a single, joined Lee May (April 29, 1974) and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (June 24, 1994) as the only players in Astros history to homer twice in an inning.

“Incredible what he can do,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He can change the landscape of the game with a swing of the bat, and he did that. Just incredible how he’s able to get big hits, big moments. … He’s just an amazing player.”

Alvarez, who pulled even with the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber for the Major League lead with his 23rd and 24th homers of the season, set a franchise record by driving in six runs in an inning, which came during the Astros’ nine-run first. He hit a two-run homer to left field in his first at-bat off starter Luinder Avila before crushing his second grand slam of the season off reliever Mason Black.

“Once I hit the first one and I got the chance to hit for a second time, it went through my mind,” said Alvarez when asked about homering twice in an inning.

The grand slam was the sixth of Alvarez’s career, putting him one shy of the club record. It was his 25th multihomer game of his career, tying Lance Berkman for the second-most in Astros history behind Bagwell (31). And speaking of Bagwell, Alvarez is on pace to hit 54 homers, which would shatter Bagwell’s club record of 47 set in 2000.

Alvarez was considered by many to be the frontrunner for the American League Most Valuable Player Award prior to Friday’s game, and he helped further his case with his record-breaking first inning for the Astros.

“That’s why there’s all the hype on the MVP, because this guy is delivering,” Espada said. “He looks comfortable at the plate, getting big hits, big moments. He’s calm, poised, he knows he belongs in that moment and he delivers.”

Alvarez’s first homer came on a curveball that he took to the opposite field off Avila for a 2-0 lead. The Royals pulled Avila after two outs and 49 pitches when he walked Jeremy Peña with the bases loaded later in the inning, and Alvarez destroyed a 1-0 sweeper from Black and crushed it a Statcast-estimated 419 feet over the center-field wall.

While Black was warming up, Alvarez went to the dugout rail and grabbed an iPad to see what pitches he throws when there are runners in scoring position. His reputation as a great hitter -- and not just a slugger -- is warranted.

“I wanted to get that information and take notice of that,” Alvarez said.

Neither Avila nor Astros starter Tatsuya Imai were able to finish the first inning. After the Astros sent 12 batters to the plate in the first and built a 9-0 lead, the Royals batted around in the bottom of the inning and scored five times against Imai, who has a 6.43 ERA in 35 innings, to cut the lead to 9-5.

“Tomorrow my conversation with him is ‘Forget about this one,’” Espada said. “I don’t want him to think, ‘I’m back to square one.’ No, there’s a lot of things he can look at this outing and learn from it. There’s some well-executed pitches that they got the barrel on, but I don’t want him to think we’re all the way back to zero. We have to put it behind us and get it ready for the next one.”

That was all the scoring until the eighth, when the Royals pushed three across to cut Houston’s lead to 9-8. Kansas City stranded the bases loaded after shortstop Peña charged a slow roller off the bat of Starling Marte and threw him out at first base by a hair.

“Big defensive play,” Espada said.

But this night was about offense. And a 28-year-old slugger who’s rewriting the history books with every swing of the bat.