After two days off to tend to a sore right ankle, Yordan Alvarez returned to the Astros’ lineup on Sunday. He was 0-for-1 with a walk before being lifted in a blowout 14-4 loss, hopping back in the saddle in his quest for the batting Triple Crown.
Alvarez, the frontrunner for American League MVP for most of this season, had been leading the AL for long stretches in each of the three prongs for the Triple Crown: batting average, home runs and RBIs. In fact, he seemed for a while to have an outside shot at the MLB-wide Triple Crown, not done since Mickey Mantle in 1956.
While the MLB crown is all but off the table, Alvarez still has a chance to win the first Triple Crown of any kind since Miguel Cabrera did it with the Tigers in 2012. But he has some work to do as the 2026 campaign enters its final weeks.
Here’s where things stand in Alvarez’s chase for royalty.
Batting Average (1st)
Alvarez still leads the AL in batting average with a .310 mark entering Monday, but things have tightened as Rays speedster Chandler Simpson is succeeding with one of MLB’s most unique offensive profiles. Simpson is second at .305, while fellow Ray Yandy Díaz is also in striking distance at .301.
Things have been trending away from Alvarez of late, though. He’s having his worst month of the season thus far in 10 games in September, hitting just .206 after a .287 mark in August.
Simpson is hitting just .245 thus far in September, but he made up ground with a red-hot .383 in August. Díaz is also cruising at .293 this month.
Home Runs (T-2nd)
Yet another Ray is making Alvarez sweat in the home run race. Junior Caminero swatted his 40th dinger of the year in walk-off fashion on Friday, clinching a postseason berth for Tampa Bay. After seven long balls in August, Caminero already has three in September.
Alvarez, with only three homers in August and September combined, is falling behind pace. His 38 long balls have set a new career high, but he’ll likely need a bit of a homer binge to catch Caminero.
The Yankees’ Ben Rice has also blasted 38 big ones in his breakout season, including two over the weekend.
Runs Batted In (2nd)
This could be Alvarez’s toughest chase. Pete Alonso, after a brutal start to his first season with the Orioles, has turned back into his typical, elite run-producing self. Alonso holds the AL lead with 100 RBIs, posting 22 in a massive August. He already has eight through 12 September games.
Alvarez, meanwhile, enters Monday with 96 RBIs. He’s tallied just 14 since the start of August.
Caminero is in this one, too, with 95 RBIs. He’s gone toe-to-toe with Alonso, with 29 driven in since Aug. 1.
What’s left?
So, can Alvarez do it? You can clearly see that, while possible, he’ll need a red-hot two weeks to finish this season to get his hands on the Triple Crown. But here’s some good news for Alvarez’s cause: The Astros face just one current postseason team (Braves) down the stretch, including four games at the Athletics for their final series.
Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento is an extremely hitter-friendly venue, and the A’s own MLB’s second-worst staff ERA at 5.41. Only the Rockies (5.57) have a lower team ERA.
While the Rays have three against the A’s, they come at home. They then finish the season against the strong pitching of the Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies. Alonso and the Orioles, meanwhile, draw the Mets, Brewers, Blue Jays and Yankees.
The schedule certainly favors Alvarez and the Astros, who are looking to capture their eighth AL West crown in the past 10 years. Air Yordan will attempt to capture his own crown and, potentially, his first AL MVP.