On Friday night, slugger Yordan Alvarez put on a power display, helping the Houston Astros clinch a postseason berth in the process.
With Astros’ starter Justin Verlander cruising on the mound against the Oakland Athletics, Alvarez took the reigns at the plate for Houston. The 25-year-old blasted three home runs, helping the Astros defeat the A’s 5-0.
Alvarez opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, hitting a 1-1 pitch off A’s starter Adrian Martinez 434 feet to give Houston a 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, Alvarez victimized Martinez again, smashing a 2-2 pitch 431 feet into the left-centerfield seats.
Alvarez’s third long-ball of the night may have been his most impressive shot of the night. Alvarez got to Martinez for the third time but drove this home run 464 feet over the bullpens in right-centerfield.
On the night, Alvarez finished 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Alvarez has 36 home runs and 88 RBI, slashing .304/.408/.624 over 120 games this season for the Astros.
The Astros and Alvarez became the first team in the American League to clinch a playoff berth. At 95-50, they own a 13.5-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. The Astros magic number to clinch the division is five.
