Astros’ Yordan Alvarez Kyle Tucker look to jolt Angels.
Houston Astros left-handed sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker have defied conventional wisdom for a while now, with their success against left-handed pitching supporting the decision to bat them back-to-back in the lineup. Alvarez and Tucker homered as part of their respective four-hit games in the Astros’ 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. That win not only set the table for Houston (85-70) to complete a four-game series sweep on Sunday afternoon but also reduced the Astros’ magic number to win the American League West to three games. Alvarez, who
hit his team-leading 35th home run with one out in the seventh inning, entered Saturday with a 1.024 OPS against left-handed pitching this season. Tucker, who followed the Alvarez blast with his 22nd home run to complete a second consecutive four-hit game, has more traditional splits this season. He had a .784 OPS against southpaws before going 2-for-2 with a walk against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers. However, his career OPS against left-handers (.838) compares favorably of that against righties (.883).
Houston manager Joe Espada could wedge a right-handed hitter — either Alex Bregman or Yainer Diaz — between Alvarez and Tucker to strike a more traditional lineup balance, but he isn’t keen on that idea.
“I don’t think I will,” Espada said. “Right now they’re two of the best lefty hitters against lefty pitching. “I feel good about having those two guys back-to-back against lefties, so, right now, I have no intention of putting a righty in between them. They’re so good at what they do, and I think they get tougher when you bring a lefty in because now they just think about using the other part of the field. They’re tough at-bats.” Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-13, 4.68 ERA) will start on Sunday as the Astros, who are 8-2 in their past 10 games, pursue the series sweep.
