Astros' Alvarez Hits Career Milestone During Injury Rehab Game

Yordan Alvarez is working his way back to the Houston Astros while doing an injury rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez continued his injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, making his first start in the field since before his injury in June.

It’s the next milestone for the All-Star, who could be back as early as the Astros’ series with the Texas Rangers, which starts on Monday. That’s the hope, according to the team’s general manager, Dana Brown.

Alvarez started in left field and batted third for the Space Cowboys, who were hosting Albuquerque in Pacific Coast League action.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, the result of a double that scored Pedro León. That RBI just happened to be Alvarez’s 100th RBI at the Triple-A level.

The RBI double, in all its glory pic.twitter.com/FJhzCTszlM

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 22, 2023

Alvarez handled his first chance in the field on a fly ball by Albuquerque’s Cole Tucker in the third inning, with Alvarez making the catch.

In the fourth, Alvarez handled a Jonathan Morales single that scored a run. In the fifth Alvarez caught a line drive from Coco Montes to end that inning.

After his at-bat in the seventh, the Space Cowboys took Alvarez out of the game.

He is expected to play again on Saturday, which would be the first back-to-back games of his injury rehab stint.

He played his first rehab game on Wednesday, a day game for the Space Cowboys. He played as the DH and went 1-for-3 with a walk before he was removed from the game.

Alvarez was set to report to Sugar Land last Friday, but a head cold set him back. He needed the weekend to recover before he could report. Alvarez did continue to work out in Houston.

Alvarez was batting .277/.388/.589/.978 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI. The Astros placed Alvarez on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort on June 9.

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