HOUSTON – A starting pitcher (left-hander Framber Valdez) who induces ground balls, a small area to cover in a familiar outfield and starting left fielder Michael Brantley still on the injured list provided a perfect series of events for Astros manager Dusty Baker to give slugger Yordan Alvarez his first start in left field Wednesday against the Red Sox since Game 5 of the 2019 World Series.

Alvarez, who’s been pretty much relegated to designated hitter in his career because of knee problems that required surgery last year, has been working out in left field daily, Baker said, and taking balls off the bat and throwing to bases. Baker said Alvarez has been asking to play left field.

“Early in the year, I didn’t want to take a chance because they told me whenever he would play the outfield before he would be sore prior to his operation and he’s been working hard, getting his legs strong,” Baker said. “He’s in outstanding shape and he’s running good. Like a lot of it’s mental. Once you get past that part of it, it makes it a lot easier to feel comfortable with changing of direction and stuff.”

Wednesday marked Alvarez’s 10th career start in left field in the regular season. The previous nine starts came in his 2019 rookie season, including four in National League parks. He started four games in left field at home and once in Chicago against the White Sox. Plus, he started the one game in left field on the road in the World Series in Washington.

Baker said the challenge is losing Alvarez’s bat in the cleanup spot if he removes him late in games for defense. But having Alvarez in left field does give him some flexibility with other parts of his roster. On Wednesday, Jose Altuve started at designated hitter and Robel García got a rare start at second base.

Astros commemorate Lou Gehrig Day

The Astros joined the rest of Major League Baseball in commemorating Lou Gehrig Day prior and during Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox at Minute Maid Park.

The ceremonial first pitch was set to be thrown by Stacy Brown, who’s living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The disease is known as Lou Gehrig Disease for the former Yankees slugger who died from it.

What’s more, Tony Dallas, who has ALS, and his son Jack, who plays baseball at Lamar University, were scheduled to perform the first call of “Play Ball!” prior to the start of the game. And Brian Bennett, whose mother, Paulette, was a nurse for more than 30 years and who treated ALS patients, performed the national anthem.

The Astros’ first pitch and first call participants will receive No. 4 Astros jerseys in honor of Gehrig. Each team around the league with a home game Wednesday displayed “4-ALS” logos in ballparks, commemorating Gehrig’s uniform number. Also, all players, managers and coaches will wear a special “Lou Gehrig Day” patch on uniforms while red “4-ALS” wristbands will be available to be worn in-game.