ANAHEIM -- When Yordan Alvarez sprained his ankle while stepping on home plate Sept. 15, the Astros were hopeful they could get him back for the final series of the season. Alvarez is progressing, but his injury will keep him out until the playoffs, manager Joe Espada said ahead of Friday's game against the Angels.
Alvarez missed 100 games while recovering from a broken bone in his hand, but hit .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games after returning to the lineup Aug. 26. He had back-to-back four-hit games against the Yankees earlier this month and had been crushing the baseball.
The Astros lost five of eight games without Alvarez, who is just one of many key players Houston has lost to injury this year. Houston lost three key members of its starting rotation -- Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Spencer Arrighetti -- early in the season, though Arrighetti returned to make five starts in August before suffering elbow inflammation.
Three of Houston’s four 2025 All-Stars -- shortstop Jeremy Peña, third baseman Isaac Paredes and closer Josh Hader -- missed time with injuries. Peña was out 27 games in July with a rib fracture and missed his fifth game in a row Friday with an oblique strain. Paredes missed 54 games with a hamstring strain and Hader has been out since Aug. 11 with a shoulder capsule strain.