Jose Altuve smashed two of Houston’s five home runs on Tuesday night, leading the Astros to a 10-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a game in which Yordan Alvarez left with an ankle injury.
The Astros, who have already clinched the American League West, are one win or one loss away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.
Altuve’s solo home run with two outs in the sixth inning against Ian Kennedy made it 5-1. Later in the inning, David Hensley hit his first major league homer, a two-run blast, and the Astros went back-to-back when Alex Bregman drove Kennedy’s fastball on the railroad tracks atop left field.
Alvarez, who is tied for second in the American League with 37 home runs, left the game in the fifth inning after rolling his ankle sprinting out of the box on a single in the first.
Yordan Alvarez appeared to be in agony as he jogged to first base and was momentarily checked on by manager Dusty Baker and a trainer before returning to the game. He struck out in the third inning as the designated hitter on Tuesday before being replaced by Hensley for his at-bat in the fifth.
Baker stated that his X-rays were negative and that he should be OK in a few days.
“We just thought it would be better to take him out and take care of him,” Baker explained.
Lance McCullers Jr. was scratched with an unexplained illness on Tuesday afternoon, and Luis Garcia took his place. Garcia (14-8) earned his sixth straight victory by allowing four hits and one run in six innings while striking out six batters.
Baker remarked, “He was aggressive with his fastball in the zone.” “He had a great command of it.” He also possessed a decent cutter and slider. Tonight, he showed some very wonderful stuff.”
Arizona starter Zach Davies (2-5) took the loss after allowing six hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings after not being considered in his previous 11 starts.
Geraldo Perdomo and Daulton Varsho each blasted single home runs for the Diamondbacks, who dropped their fourth game in a row.
Hensley’s spectacular performance came after he entered the game 0 for 9.
“That’s all I’ve worked for,” he said. “It feels great to see the success unfold.”
Baker was impressed with Hensley’s performance after Alvarez was injured.
“It was very amazing for a young man to hit his maiden home run hitting in the order where Alvarez normally bats,” he remarked. “We’re all thrilled for him. He’s been doing an excellent job for us.”
With a leadoff home run, Altuve put the Astros ahead early. It was his 12th leadoff homer of the season, tying George Springer’s franchise record set in 2019.
Perdomo’s home run to right-center field knotted the game with two outs in the third inning.
Trey Mancini’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave the Astros a 2-1 edge. Altuve doubled in the fifth inning and later scored on Hensley’s single, which chased Davies.
Taylor Widener took over and was greeted by Bregman’s tune. Widener then hit Kyle Tucker to load the bases before Yuli Gurriel grounded into a forceout, scoring Hensley but leaving Tucker at second.
EMOTIONAL RETURN
Brent Strom, Arizona pitching coach from 2014 through 2021, was emotional in his first return to Houston since leaving the Astros following the World Series last year.
Strom, who is credited with much of the development of Houston’s young pitchers, sobbed openly as he talked about how much his time with the organisation meant to him.
“This is something I’ve been looking forward to,” he stated. “These are the folks I grew up with.”
Before the game, Strom was given his AL Championship ring.
“I almost forgot (about the ring) because I was so sad in losing the World Series to the Atlanta Braves,” Strom recalled of Houston’s six-game loss to the Braves.
CLOSED
The Astros planned to keep the retractable roof at Minute Maid Park open for Tuesday’s game, but announced an hour before first pitch that it would be closed as usual due to “temperatures trending warmer than anticipated.”
The temperature was announced as 85 degrees at first pitch. Because of the high heat in Houston, the roof is rarely open during games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: OF Jake McCarthy was reinstated from the bereavement list on Tuesday, while OF Alek Thomas was optioned to Triple-A Reno.
Astros: Baker stated that McCullers stayed at home on Tuesday and did not attend the game. He also stated that he did not know when his next start would be.
Next Coming
When the series resumes Wednesday night, Houston’s Justin Verlander (17-4, 1.82 ERA) will look for his AL-leading 18th win against Zac Gallen (12-3, 2.46).
