HOUSTON -- The best version of the Astros’ offense is when All-Star sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker are swinging the bat well, which hasn’t been the case with either of them for most of August. Perhaps their fortunes began to change Wednesday night.

Tucker and Alvarez both clobbered their first home runs in the month of August in an 8-4 loss to the Rangers in 10 innings at Minute Maid Park. Both blasts came with the bases empty -- punctuating a frustrating night offensively in which the Astros were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base -- but acting manager Joe Espada said they were signs Tucker and Alvarez might be coming out of their funks.

“We did some things effectively that I thought were good,” said Espada, who’s filling in for Dusty Baker while he’s out recovering from COVID-19. “Alvarez, that homer, and Tucker is starting to smoke the ball, which is important.”

Tucker, who didn’t get any official at-bats in the four-game series against the Guardians over the weekend while he battled an illness, went 3-for-5 with a fourth-inning homer off Texas starter Glenn Otto -- his 20th of the season and first since July 26, a span of 35 at-bats. The homer came against the Rangers’ four-man outfield alignment.

Tucker’s average exit velocity on his four batted balls was 102.5 mph, topped by a 106.8-mph single in the 10th inning.

“That’s the Tucker that we all know,” Espada said. “That was good to see.”

Tucker slashed .212/.262/.364 in July after a monster June (.281/.385/.573), and he said he thought his swing began to feel better early in the final game of the Red Sox series in Houston on Aug. 3, when he went 2-for-4. He wasn’t able to build on that, though, because he became ill and managed one plate appearance in the next four games at Cleveland.

“It’s [his swings] have felt a lot better,” Tucker said. “Probably started to feel better during the Red Sox series, like the last game or so. I’ve been in the cage, working with [hitting coach Troy Snitker] pretty much every day, just trying to figure out a better way to go about getting in better position to try to hit balls.”

Alvarez, who, like Tucker, was named to his first All-Star team this year, snapped an 0-for-13 drought when he crushed a pitch from Rangers reliever Brock Burke and hit a 114.6-mph laser over the right-field wall in the seventh to tie the game. That was his first homer since July 29, a span of 38 at-bats, and his 31st of the season.

“Those are the signs we’re looking for,” Espada said. “He kept that ball fair, which is also important. That was a good pitch in and he was able to stay inside that ball and kept it fair and hit it really hard.”

Alvarez, the AL Player of the Month for June, slashed .286/.432/.714 in July before getting off to a 4-for-27 start in August. He said he hasn’t been happy with his pitch selection. His homer Wednesday came on a sinker over the heart of the plate.

“I was going through a mini-slump there, and the homer was something to help out the team,” Alvarez said. “It’s something that definitely helps the confidence.”

Considering the holes the Astros have offensively at several spots in their lineup, they need Tucker and Alvarez to build off Wednesday’s hard contact.

“Once everyone is contributing and everybody is doing their part, everything clicks in and it becomes contagious,” Espada said. “Right now, there are some gaps in there, but once we all start swinging the bat how we’re capable of, it’s a dynamic offense. It’s one of those days today in which we couldn’t capitalize and get some runs across the plate.”