Álvarez homers again

Yordan Álvarez homered in back-to-back games in Seattle this weekend, giving Houston’s middle of the order another jolt during a fast start to 2026. (espn.com, espn.com) On Friday, April 10, Álvarez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning of a 9-6 loss to the Mariners, his fifth home run of the season. The blast traveled 389 feet to right field and cut Seattle’s lead from 9-3 to 9-6. (espn.com, mlb.com) On Saturday, April 11, Houston and Seattle were tied 7-7 in the sixth inning when play was suspended, and the box score credited Álvarez with another run-scoring hit as the Astros piled up 13 hits against Luis Castillo and Seattle’s bullpen. (espn.com, mlb.com) Through 14 games, Álvarez was batting.341 with a 1.266 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, five home runs and 13 runs batted in. ESPN’s game log listed him tied for the Major League lead in home runs and first in on-base-plus-slugging percentage entering Sunday, April 12. (espn.com) That production follows a start Houston had been waiting on from a hitter who spent much of 2025 managing knee trouble and entered spring training “pain free,” according to Major League Baseball’s Astros coverage last week. The club had used him mostly at designated hitter in its first seven games to limit wear. (mlb.com) Álvarez opened this season with home runs on March 27, March 30 and March 31, then added another on April 5 before the two in Seattle. His first 44 at-bats produced 15 hits, 14 walks and only seven strikeouts. (espn.com) Houston needed that offense. The Astros entered the Seattle series at 6-7, then lost 9-6 on Friday for their fifth straight defeat before Saturday’s suspended game left them still trying to stop a skid on the road. (espn.com, baseball-reference.com) The next marker comes Sunday, April 12, when Houston finishes the suspended game and then plays the series finale at T-Mobile Park. Álvarez arrives there swinging like the hitter who can change a score with one pitch. (mlb.com, mlb.com)