The Launch Angle

I won’t bury the lede: Yordan Alvarez is freaking awesome.

Where would the Astros be without Alvarez? I shudder thinking about it. Or, you know, I can just rewatch the majority of the 2025 season. Although he didn’t need to prove it, Alvarez has continued to show why he’s one of the best hitters in baseball with his performance this season. And his place among the franchise greats only continues to solidify. Add Saturday’s game to his growing legend.

Two home runs, six RBI, including a walk-off home run, all in one game. Simply incredible, and the Astros needed every single one of those contributions.

That this game ended 10-8 was a bit unexpected. Houston’s starter, Hunter Brown, is considered one of the game’s best starting pitchers, finishing with a top-three AL Cy Young finish last season. Drew Rasmussen was the AL Pitcher of the Month in June and one of the top-twenty starters in baseball. On paper, it was a really solid pitching matchup.

Baseball can produce unexpected results, though. I mean, I wasn’t anticipating both pitchers failing to throw a single pitch in the sixth inning, with Brown lasting only four innings and Rasmussen throwing five frames. 12 earned runs between the two. Brown, in particular, simply didn’t have it against Tampa Bay. Seven earned runs in four innings would typically sink a team. Only six whiffs on 30 swings.

Thankfully, Alvarez and the lineup managed to step up when it counted most. Every Astro other than LaMonte Wade Jr. and Cam Smith collected at least one hit. Jose Altuve had two hits and two walks, scoring three runs in the process. One of those two hits was a triple, only his second since 2023. Yainer Diaz smacked a two-run home run in the fourth. Zach Dezenzo tied the game with a pinch-hit, two-out RBI single in the seventh inning. While there wasn’t one big inning that opened the floodgates, Houston chipped away by scoring at least one run in five of the nine innings.

The bullpen deserves its own recognition, holding the Rays to a single run in the final five frames. Nate Pearson, Bryan King, and Josh Hader all threw scoreless innings. Cristian Javier made his return from the IL, pitching in the sixth and seventh innings. Other than Jonny DeLuca’s solo home run to the Crawford Boxes, a ball that was a home run in 12 of the 30 parks, Javier did well in his return, striking out four. His four-seam velocity spiked to an average of 93.9 mph (up from 92.8 mph earlier this season as a starter), with a max of 95.3 mph. His role in the coming weeks will be fascinating to watch.

You can make the argument that this might be the “win” of the season for the Astros, especially against a team like the Rays, who are the best team in the AL at the moment. That said, this team is still 44-47, and I am still not particularly hopeful about their long-term chances. But if the season turns around and Houston truly pushes for a postseason berth, we can likely view this game as a potential turning point.

Feature photo from Astros on X