Air Yordan: Álvarez hits 2-run homer in Astros' Game 5 win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Yordan Álvarez bided his time on the bench for two nights and had three swings to show for it.

Once the Houston Astros rookie was given a full-time job in Game 5 of the World Series, he had a blast. Álvarez went 3 for 3 with a huge two-run home run off Washington Nationals emergency starter Joe Ross to help Houston take a 3-2 series lead and move one victory away from a second championship in three years.

The homer was Álvarez's first of the playoffs and a jumpstart for the Astros' 7-1 win Sunday night. He became the youngest AL player with three hits in a World Series game since 1957.

Despite hitting .500 in the first two games of the World Series, Álvarez didn't see the field for Games 3 and 4 at an NL park with no designated hitter because of concerns about his defense. Álvarez took three swings in two pinch-hit appearances, popping out in one and flying out in the other.

The Astros won each of those anyway with no help from Álvarez, but manager AJ Hinch had a plan.

Hinch didn't want Álvarez sitting too long and saw an opportunity with his ace, Gerrit Cole, on the mound. He figured Cole usually gets "so many strikeouts" — he threw nine — that there'd be fewer balls in play. Álvarez had no trouble with the one ball lined his way in left field.

Álvarez, of course, was sixth in the lineup for his bat, which heated up in the first two games in Houston after going 1 for 22 in the AL Championship Series. The 22-year-old was starting to look more like the phenom who hit .313 with 27 home runs and 78 RBIs in just 87 games in his first major league season.

That power was on display in the second inning when he crushed a low-and-away sinker from Ross into the seats in left center. Álvarez passed Jose Canseco as the youngest Cuban-born...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Air-Yordan-lvarez-hits-2-run-homer-in-Astros-14567026.php