Yordan Alvarez’s early Astros homer leads to league-leading intentional walk

The Houston Astros have seen so much production this season from slugger Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez blasted another home run on Sunday, when his team faced off against the Cleveland Guardians. After that moonshot, he was then intentionally walked.

This is something that Alvarez is getting used to.

“That’s the 10th intentional walk for Alvarez this year, which is the most in MLB,” MLB.com reporter Brian McTaggart reported on X, formerly Twitter.

Alvarez absolutely crushed the baseball when he hit his 25th home run of the season on Sunday. On the television broadcast, the sound of the home run soared through the screen. That blast came in the first inning of the game against Cleveland.

Yordan Alvarez hits No. 25. He's on a pace for 50. pic.twitter.com/5ReSxFC6sj

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 21, 2026

Alvarez has been the anchor of the Astros offense this season. While Houston has struggled, the slugger has not. He has 56 RBIs on the season to go with his 25 home runs.

The slugger’s home run on Sunday comes just days after he homered twice in one inning for Houston. That happened when the Astros played the Kansas City Royals on June 12. Alvarez hit a grand slam and a two-run homer in the same inning.

That performance was simply extraordinary.

“Since the RBI stat became official in 1920, only Alvarez and Baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz (2008) have hit two homers and recorded six RBIs in a first inning, according to ESPN Research,” ESPN reported.

Houston needs Alvarez to keep hitting. The Astros enter Sunday’s game with the Guardians holding a 36-42 record. Despite that mark, Houston is just three games behind Seattle for first in the AL West.

It feels that if the Astros win the division this season, it will be because of Alvarez. The slugger is making a case that he could be the American League MVP this season.

Houston enters Sunday’s game with a 5-5 overall record over the last 10 games.

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