'The ball is screaming': Yordan atop MLB homer list after hitting No. 9 vs. Cards

HOUSTON -- It’s been a tough start to the season for the Astros, but slugger Yordan Alvarez -- who missed most of last year with an injury -- is reminding everybody how lethal he can be with the bat in his hands.

Alvarez swatted his Major League-leading ninth homer run of the season in his first at-bat, then he had the second-hardest-hit ball of his career for a double in his second at-bat in Saturday’s 7-5 loss to the Cardinals at Daikin Park -- the Astros’ 11th loss in their past 13 games.

Alvarez has homered in three of his last four games and has an RBI in his last five games. For the season, he’s slashing .342/.485/.789 with 20 RBIs in 22 games. He has more home runs and extra-base hits (16) in 99 plate appearances this season than he had last season in 199 plate appearances. Alvarez played in only 48 games last year because of injuries.

“He's one of a kind,” said Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who allowed four runs in five innings against St. Louis. “I remember when he debuted [in 2019], we realized extremely fast what we had and how special he is. So he's one of the most prolific, if not the most prolific, hitter in the game.”

Alvarez’s first-inning homer off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante went to straightaway center field and struck the batter’s eye -- a Statcast-projected 421 feet away from home plate. The ball came off the bat at 109.2 mph, which paled in comparison to the next time Alvarez made contact off Pallante.

With one out in the third, Alvarez crushed a line drive to center that skipped past Nathan Church and went to the wall for a double. The ball had an exit velocity of 117.8 mph, which is the second-hardest-hit ball of Alvarez’s career and the second-hardest hit in the Major Leagues so far this season (Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz had a 119.0 mph double on April 16).

“He’s a stud, man,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Just the home runs, right? I think that’s what’s been the highlight, just how he’s hitting the ball all over the field. Straight center is not easy to do, but he’s locked in right now. Everything he touches, the ball is screaming.”

Just before he struck out in the ninth inning, Alvarez had a 106.8 mph laser down the right-field line that he couldn’t keep fair.

“I mean, he covers everything, even the one in the last inning in the strikeout,” McCullers said. “He took an unbelievable swing on a sweeper down and in. Obviously, it was foul, but I mean, it had the distance. There's really not a lot you can do to him as an opposing pitcher, especially if he's going well. He’s a fantastic person, fantastic teammate.”

It’s early, but Alvarez is on pace to smash the franchise single-season home run record of 47 set by Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell in 2000 -- the year the Astros moved to Daikin Park. Only one Astros player has hit 40 homers in a season since (Alex Bregman with 41 in 2019), but Alvarez has a great chance to break his career high of 37 set in 2022.

Of course, it’s going to come down to health.

Alvarez missed 100 games last year while recovering from a broken bone in his right hand, but he slashed .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games after returning to the lineup Aug. 26. With the Astros pushing for a playoff spot, Alvarez suffered a left ankle sprain when he slipped on home plate Sept. 15 against the Rangers, which ended his season and effectively Houston's playoff hopes.