Alvarez completes cycle, gets keepsake ball from gracious fan
Brian McTaggart
@brianmctaggartSEATTLE -- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez had never hit for the cycle at any level prior to Sunday afternoon. Not while he was playing as a kid in Cuba, not while he was in the Minor Leagues and not when he was sitting on his couch with a controller in his hand.
¡°Not even in PlayStation,¡± he said.
One pitch after Alvarez was briefly hobbled by a foul ball off his shin, he ripped a double down the right-field line in the eighth inning to complete the 10th cycle in club history and first since Jose Altuve on Aug. 28 of last year in Boston.
Alvarez went 4-for-4 with a single, a homer, a triple and a double -- in that order -- in the Astros¡¯ 6-4 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He¡¯s the second player in the Majors this year to hit for the cycle (Wyatt Langford, June 30) and the second to do it in T-Mobile history (Miguel Tejada on Sept. 29, 2001).
¡°That¡¯s not easy to do, especially for a slugger,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°He was able to hit the ball -- that looked like 500 feet, that homer. And then being able to hit a triple just tells you not only what a good hitter he is, but how athletic he is.¡±
Alvarez was able to collect the ball he hit for the double and after the game was presented with the home run ball, as well. The fan who came up with it, Amy Franz, returned the ball to Alvarez and was given a signed ball by the slugger.
¡°I¡¯m very excited,¡± he said. ¡°I felt a little bit of pressure there, but I knew I needed a double and when I hit the ball, I said, ¡®There it is.¡¯¡¯
Alvarez opened his historic effort with a first-inning single off Bryan Woo, and three innings later added his 20th homer of the year, also off Woo. The homer hit the facade of the upper deck in right field, traveling a Statcast-projected 429 feet.
Alvarez tripled in the sixth inning on a deep fly ball to center field that was nearly corralled by Mariners center fielder Julio Rodr¨ªguez, who injured his right ankle while jumping onto the wall and was removed from the game.
¡°It was a confusing play,¡± Alvarez said. ¡°When I hit the ball, I thought it was going to carry a little bit more and then I saw him jump at the wall and make the catch, and then I saw him hit the wall and the ball drops, and he drops. I just knew I needed to continue running there.¡±
Altuve completed his cycle last year at Fenway Park by hitting a Kyle Barraclough pitch over the Green Monster for a homer and Houston¡¯s first cycle since Brandon Barnes on July 19, 2013. Altuve isn¡¯t surprised Alvarez has joined him on the list of Astros cycles.
¡°He can run,¡± Altuve said. ¡°He can hit a lot of balls in the gaps, and singles and homers. He¡¯s the perfect guy to get multiple cycles.¡±
Alvarez has come to the plate a few times needing a triple to complete the cycle, but wasn¡¯t able to get it done. His triple on Sunday was only the sixth of his five-year career.
¡°I think the triple is probably the most difficult part of it, but when you come to the field, it¡¯s not really something you think about, ¡®Hey, I want to do the cycle,¡¯¡± he said. ¡°To get the cycle, you have to really have to have a really great day.¡±
Alvarez did have to get some treatment on his shin because of the foul ball and said he was dealing with inflammation, though he didn¡¯t think it was anything serious. Despite the homers from Alvarez and Jeremy Pe?a, the Astros dropped the finale of the three-game series in Seattle.
By winning the series, though, they are tied with the Mariners atop the AL West standings.
¡°I thought we played really, really well,¡± Espada said. ¡°We wanted to come here and win a series, and we accomplished that. I thought our guys competed well. I think we did what needed to, coming in here and getting back in this race.
¡°We¡¯re still in first place, but I thought the energy almost felt like a playoff series. That¡¯s the commitment we want from our players.¡±