Yordan Alvarez had already been named the American League’s starting designated hitter for the All-Star Game on Friday evening—Houston’s only representative in Philadelphia. He then went out and put on one of the best individual performances of the season.
Two home runs. Six RBIs. A walk-off on the fourth of July.
Alvarez drove a 1-2 fastball from Craig Kimbrel deep to center field in the ninth inning, a two-run shot that lifted the Houston Astros to a stunning 10-8 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Daikin Park, snapping Tampa Bay’s nine-game winning streak and sending a packed Daikin Park home happy on Independence Day.
It was that kind of night—chaotic, back-and-forth, and ultimately decided by the best hitter in the American League doing what the best hitter in the American League does.
The Astros trailed 7-2 after four innings. They trailed 8-5 in the seventh. Then their lineup woke up. Taylor Trammell singled. Nick Allen doubled. Jose Altuve worked a walk, loading the bases. Alvarez lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to two. Isaac Paredes singled home another. Two outs, still a run down, with Kimbrel—one of the most accomplished closers in baseball history—on the mound, the Astros sent up Zach Dezenzo, recalled from Triple-A just hours earlier, for a platoon matchup. He lined a single to right to tie the game. The place erupted.
Two innings later, Altuve walked to lead off the ninth. Alvarez came to the plate with one on and nobody out. He sent the next offering deep to center to end it.
“I think it’s a beautiful experience to be able to start the All-Star Game,” Alvarez had said before the game. His night made the case for far more than that.
Brown Struggles, Javier Impresses
It nearly didn’t get to that point. Hunter Brown allowed seven runs in four innings—Junior Caminero homered in the first, Richie Palacios followed with a two-run shot in the second, and a third inning in which a single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases before three more scored on a sacrifice fly, a DeLuca single, and Cedric Mullins scoring from third on a Yainer Diaz throwing error on a stolen base attempt. Brown’s ERA more than doubled on the night.
Cristian Javier, activated from the injured list Friday, salvaged two impressive innings in his first relief appearance since 2022. He struck out four of the first five batters he faced, was sharp with both his fastball and sweeper, and gave the offense time to mount what turned into one of the more memorable comebacks of the season. Bryan King worked a clean eighth and Josh Hader a scoreless ninth to hold the tie and hand the lineup a chance to win it.
The Numbers
Alvarez leads the AL with 29 home runs and has 67 RBIs on the season. The Astros improved to 44-47, with the All-Star break arriving after Sunday’s series finale.
