ANAHEIM — It’s a dilemma managers around the league are having to face on a routine basis: Do you pitch to Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez in a key spot late in the game, or do you put up four fingers and let him trot to first base?
The Angels were reminded again on Tuesday night that you can’t win either way.
After choosing to walk Alvarez to load the bases in the ninth inning Monday, which wound up backfiring in the Astros’ frantic four-run rally, the Angels chose to pitch to Alvarez with runners at first and third and two outs in the ninth Tuesday, only to watch him rip an RBI single to center to score Nick Allen and send Houston to a 3-2 win at Angel Stadium.
“It’s tough,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Sometimes you just don’t know what to do. What’s the right thing to do? He has a good hitter behind him. It’s a really tough decision, and I’m glad that I don’t have to make that one.”
The Astros (54-55), winners of seven of their last eight games, can get back to the .500 mark for the first time since they were 6-6 on April 7 with a win in Wednesday’s series finale. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski will come off the injured list following Tommy John surgery and start his first game in the big leagues in nearly 15 months.
“We’re not going to make a big deal out of it,” Alvarez said. “We all know what the goal is, and that’s to try to make the playoffs.”
For the second game in a row, the Astros rallied in the ninth to win. Allen’s leadoff double got things started, and he was at third following a bloop single by Christian Vázquez. After Jeremy Peña struck out for the second out, the Angels sent pitching coach Mike Maddux to the mound to talk strategy with pitcher Mitch Farris.
Do you walk Alvarez again, or take your chances?
Alvarez is the leading candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player Award with one-third of the season remaining, first in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. He crushed his Major League-leading 35th homer of the season in the first inning Tuesday.
“We thought about it, and at the same time we knew Farris has really good command, and that’s why I had Maddux go out there and talk to him and say, ‘Hey, nothing good, nothing even close. If you fall behind, we’ll just walk him,’” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Alvarez just got a pitch in and smoked it.”
Alvarez ripped a fastball that was just below the zone into center field, at 107.1 mph off the bat, to score Allen from third base for his 80th RBI.
“I didn’t want to get into a big swing,” Alvarez said. “I just wanted to put that ball in play. I wanted to try to hit the ball up the middle or to the other side of the field, but I did what I wanted to do.”
On Monday, the Angels walked Alvarez in the ninth to load the bases for Isaac Paredes, who was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run. So what was different this time?
“I like [Farris’] command and we felt like he could execute it,” Suzuki said. “And that’s where we went today. I mean, Paredes is no slouch either, you know? So, we felt like Farris’ command was good where he could execute it, and if we fell behind, we’d walk him.”
Monday’s intentional walk was the 18th of the season for Alvarez, by far the most in the Major Leagues. Alvarez said he wasn’t surprised to get a chance to hit after walking him had just backfired on the Angels.
“He’s a nightmare, that’s for sure, for an opposing pitcher,” said Astros starter Peter Lambert, who capped a strong July by holding the Angels to two runs and seven hits (six singles) in five innings, striking out six batters and walking one.
After Alvarez’s go-ahead single, closer Josh Hader needed only four pitches to work a scoreless ninth for his 14th save and cap four hitless innings from Houston’s bullpen
“We’re playing with a lot of intensity and focus, and I like how convicted we are of where we’re trying to get to,” Espada said.
And once again, Alvarez is leading the way.
