Article author:
Reuters
The worst scenario happened last week when Houston Astros slugger Jordan Alvarez collided with short-stop Jeremy Pena and tracked eight pop-ups against New York Mets.
Astros didn't have Alvarez and his MVP caliber bat in two games while he completed the concussion protocol. But on Tuesday, in the second game of a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals he was visiting, Astros witnessed the best of Alvarez in the outfield and on the plate.
Alvarez threw exactly on the plate where Hunter Dozier was erased to complete the double play and drowned out the threat of Kansas City at the top of the eight innings. He then made his 25th home run in the lower half, winning the Astros 9-7 and extending his winning streak to eight.
Astro was cautious about using Alvarez in the field. He made his 32nd start from the left on Tuesday and started 38 more times as a designated hitter. His growth has been marked defensively, but it's his bat that remains his calling card, which is why Astros wants to pay attention to how often he plays the field.
"He puts a lot of effort into his defense," said Dusty Baker, Astros' manager. "We still need to protect him, keep him strong, and DH him as much as we play him, because we certainly can't lose this guy in the lineup. "
Alvarez hits .313 with 25 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Right-handed Christian Javier (6-3, 2.58 ERA) is the Astros starter scheduled for Wednesday. He has been extraordinary in the last two starts, with more than 14 innings to the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels, with 27 strikeouts per hit and one walk.
Javier threw 7 innings against the Yankees as part of a compound no-hitter on June 25, before recording his career's best 14 strikes against the Angels six days later. rice field.
Javier's ERA was 3.86, with more than one career relief for the Royals.
Right-handed Brad Keller (3-9, 4.24) is tasked with starting the Royals on Wednesday. This is the club's best 16th start of the season and 99th in his career. Keller made his eighth quality start to lead the team against the Detroit Tigers on July 1, with five hits and two walks, six scoreless innings and five strikeouts. And the Royals won 3-1.
Keller was 2-4, with 4.24 ERA starting on seven roads and winning the last two outings from Kansas City.
Keller had previously confronted Houston on June 17, 2018, with one strike in six innings, allowing nine hits and three runs in three walks. .. He did not consider the 7-4 defeat decision.
On Tuesday, veteran right-handed Zack Gleinke made a rough start to the previous club, making two strikes in five innings, ten hits and two walks. Allowed 6 runs. A member of Astros in 2019-21, he was 22-10, achieved 3.89 ERA in 52 appearances (51 starts) with Astros, and entered the World Series in 2019 and 2021.
"Out was my only idea," Greinke said. "It's a good lineup, but most of them have a place for you to market. It wasn't done well. That's my idea when facing them."
– Field Level media
