Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez gets a day off after turning his ankle in Philadelphia

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Yordan Alvarez was out of the Houston Astros lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Rays, a day after the slugger turned his right ankle running the bases in Philadelphia.

Manager Joe Espada said Alvarez hit pregame Friday at Tropicana Field and did not rule out Alvarez potentially being available off the bench. Alvarez did not have imaging on the ankle, Espada said.

“I’m not concerned,” Espada said. “But obviously, it’s not good enough just today to be in there.”

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Alvarez ran first-to-third on an eighth-inning double by Jose Altuve in the eighth inning Thursday against the Phillies and turned his ankle as he arrived at the base. He was briefly visited by an Astros trainer but stayed in the game. The inning ended on a pop-out by the next batter and Alvarez, the designated hitter, did not take another at-bat or appear again in the game.

Espada said the Astros did not deem imaging “necessary” for Alvarez, and termed Alvarez day-to-day.

Alvarez, the majors’ OPS leader and likely American League MVP frontrunner, remains a candidate for a Triple Crown. He entered Friday leading qualified AL hitters with a .310 batting average. His 38 home runs and 96 RBIs each ranked second, one behind the respective leaders in those categories, the Rays’ Junior Caminero and the Orioles’ Pete Alonso.

Entering Friday, Alvarez led the majors in categories including on-base percentage (.427), slugging (.590), total bases (308) and OPS-plus (186). Thursday, he became the seventh in Astros history to record 100 walks in a season, joining Jeff Bagwell (7 seasons), Lance Berkman (3), Jim Wynn (3), Joe Morgan (2), Alex Bregman (1), Morgan Ensberg (1).

Alvarez has sustained those numbers even as his power numbers have slowed over the past month-plus. Since the trade deadline, Alvarez owns a .244/.378/.387 slash line with three home runs in 34 games. He went 7-for-33 with three extra-bas hits and two RBIs over his first nine games in September after posting his lowest slugging and highest chase rates of the season in August.

The Astros lineup is anchored by Alvarez. Friday marked just the third time he has been absent from the starting lineup in their 148 games. Though he has started 123 of those at DH, Alvarez has already set a career high in plate appearances, and Espada acknowledged a rest day – albeit for suboptimal reasons – might benefit Alvarez in the long run.

“I think so, and I hope so,” Espada said. “We want him in there and he feels strong, he feels really good. But a day like today, especially on this turf, I think it would be beneficial for him.”

Houston’s offense scored 15 runs across a three-game series in Philadelphia with Alvarez going 2-for-13 with one run scored and one RBI. Cam Smith, who hit three home runs in the series, Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker combined to drive in 10 runs in three games, illustrating how the Astros’ offense might still function with Alvarez producing at a less than superhuman pace.

Houston entered Friday with a three-game lead in the American League West over the Rangers and 15 games left to play on its regular-season schedule. With Alvarez absent, the Astros started Altuve at designated hitter and Nick Allen at second base. Altuve also slotted into the leadoff spot in the lineup, with shortstop Jeremy Peña shifting down to the second spot usually occupied by Alvarez.

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This article originally published at Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez gets a day off after turning his ankle in Philadelphia.