“That’s nail in the coffin” - Fans panic as Astros’ Yordan Alvarez limps off with left ankle sprain adding to team’s injury woes

Yordan Alvarez suffered a scary injury during the Houston Astros 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday. The slugger limped off the field after twisting ankle trying to dash to the home plate.

In the bottom of the first inning, with Jeremy Pena on base, Yordan Alvarez drew a walk. Carlos Correa's infield hit landed a few feet in front of pitcher Jack Leiter, who slipped and threw over first base, which prompted Pena and Alvarez to scamper through for two runs.

As Alvarez reached home plate, he initially slipped before trying to balance himself, and twisted his ankle. He was brought to a halt by Christian Walker in front of the Astros' dugout and was helped off the field by trainers.

If this is a major injury, this will be the second one for Alvarez this season, who already missed 100 games due to a muscle strain in his right hand.

This also piles on the number of injuries the Astros have faced this season. On Sunday, Jose Altuve was ruled out due to soreness in his foot. Fans took to X to comment about the horrific luck the Astros are currently having. Here are a few reactions:

"With all [honesty], I think thats nail in the coffin for the season," a fan said.

"We are cursed by the injury bug this season," another fan said.

"Delete the season and start over," a fan made their feelings known.

"What is the record for team injuries in a single season," a user wrote.

"It will be sprained for two weeks and then it will be broken at the end of the month," a fan said about the team's update.

"This medical team loves to downplay stuff, so I'm gonna be pissed if it's actually a break," another fan said.

Alvarez was hitting at .369 with a 1.024 OPS in 18 games since his return from the hand injury. The Cuban professional was replaced by Zach Cole who was impressive, hitting a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning and an RBI single in the seventh.

Jeremy Pena reveals exact details about Yordan Alvarez's injury

Astros' leadoff hitter Jeremy Pena, who had reached the home plate a few moments before Alvarez revealed that the Astros slugger sprained his ankle twice.

“I saw him coming around [third base],” Peña said. “And then when he stepped on home plate, I had a front-row seat. His ankle kind of twisted, and when he had to plant again, I saw it twist again. And it’s not pretty. You don’t want to see that, especially Yordan Alvarez. We need him.”

Alvarez's injury comes as a blow to Houston, which has lost the American League West lead to the Seattle Mariners. They are 0.5 games behind the Mariners and 3.0 games above the Cleveland Guardians and the Rangers in the AL Wild Card third spot.

About the author

Nikhil Parshy is a baseball and ice hockey journalist at Sportskeeda, and after starting out as a cricket reporter, he has been an analyst with SK since November 2022. His interest in the sports were piqued a few years back after watching highlights on YouTube and he has followed the game ever since.

The Chicago Cubs breaking the 108-year curse in 2016 to lift the World Series remains Nikhil's favorite baseball moment. Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has been his favorite player ever since he started following the game, while the LA Dodgers are his favorite team.

As a writer, Nikhil maintains a strong attention to detail and rigorously cross-checks information. He seeks to strike a balance in his writing such that the regular reader gains an insight into player profiles, while also keeping in mind that the non-regular reader is not put off by jargon and shallow analysis.

Nikhil is an avid public speaker, and when not writing about baseball, he regularly participates in debates and quizzes.

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Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy