There may not be a worse time in the season for a team in the playoff hunt to lose a key contributor like the Houston Astros did on Monday when Yordan Alvarez, who's done nothing but rake since coming off the injured list, exited their 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers early with an ankle injury. Alvarez's foot slipped at home plate when he came around to score the second run of the game for the Astros, and he did not return to the game as he had to be replaced by Zach Cole.
Alvarez, since he returned to the Astros lineup on the 26th of August, has put up an otherworldly OPS of 1.031 to go along with three home runs and nine runs batted in. He has returned to form in a big way, putting the memories of his slow start to the 2025 season completely in the rearview mirror. But now, his immediate future is in doubt considering how badly he limped right after he planted his foot wrong when he stepped on home plate.
This is far from the ideal scenario for the Astros, and star shortstop Jeremy Pena's admission after the game won't do much to quell the concerns fans have over Alvarez's injury.
“I had a front-row seat. His ankle kind of twisted. Then, when he went to plant again, I saw it twist again. It’s not pretty. You don’t want to see that, especially Yordan Alvarez. We need him,” Pena admitted, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
It was Pena who came first to score before Alvarez did and he did have as close of a view as one could have on what transpired at home plate. For him to be this worried has to be very concerning, testing the Astros and their resilience even further especially now that the Seattle Mariners have taken the AL West lead.
Yordan Alvarez to miss time amid Astros' AL West battle vs. Mariners?
Alvarez's ankle injury puts his immediate future in doubt; the Astros need the peak version of him to show up to hold off the Mariners for the AL West crown, and his MRI results will dictate whether or not he needs time off to recuperate.
Whatever the case may be, the Mariners have already overtaken the Astros for the AL West lead with an impressive hot streak; the Astros have to get it together lest they risk losing the division crown in the dying moments of the regular season.
