Yordan Alvarez hit a pair of home runs for the second straight game in Houston to back up a superb pitching performance by Dominican Framber Valdez and the Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-0.
Alvarez’s first homer came in the fifth inning off visiting starter Brandon Pfaadt. The connection, which left at a speed of 108.9 miles per hour and traveled 407 feet in right field, drove in Mauricio Dubon, who drove in the first run for the Astros in the second inning, and Jose Altuve.
An inning later, the Cuban would hit the ball over the wall again, but this time in center field and off reliever Jordan Montgomery. The hit, which went 110.8 mph and traveled 420 feet, again found Dubón and Altuve in circulation.
This was the 22nd game of his major league career in which he hit a multi-homer game.
“I never thought it was going to go (the second homer), I was starting to run harder to get a double until I saw their outfielders stand up and I said wow,” the Cuban said after the game. “Games like this make you feel really good.”
Alvarez’s Dantesque home runs backed up Framber Valdez’s solid outing. The Dominican left-hander left 7.0 IP, with two hits, three walks and seven strikeouts to now display an ERA of 2.97.
“I dominated them by throwing strikes and attacking them early in the count,” Valdez said. “It’s been a good few months and I’m looking to stay consistent in every outing.”
The Astros, who were swept in a three-game series in Cincinnati by the Reds, now have a record of 76 wins and 65 losses, which allows them to remain atop the American League West despite having had a slow start to the season.
