Less than a week ago, Yordan Alvarez stood alone atop the major-league home run leaderboard while leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories.
Now, the race is getting crowded.
Alvarez remains at 35 home runs, but Junior Caminero, Matt Olson, and Kyle Schwarber have all caught him, creating a four-way tie for the major-league lead. Caminero and Olson each hit their 35th Tuesday night, while Schwarber reached the mark Sunday. Alvarez has been sitting at 35 since July 28.
For Alvarez, the most significant name in that group is Caminero. The Rays slugger is the only other American League hitter among the four, meaning he poses a direct threat to Alvarez’s pursuit of the Triple Crown.
As recently as Friday, Alvarez was batting .329 with 35 home runs and 85 RBIs, leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories. No player has won the Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera accomplished the feat with the Detroit Tigers in 2012, and no Astros player has ever done it.
Alvarez’s 35th home run came July 28 against the Los Angeles Angels, a solo shot to right-center that gave Houston an early lead. He hasn’t homered since.
That hasn’t stopped him from contributing. Alvarez drove in Houston’s only run Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants with a sacrifice fly, bringing his season total to 87 RBIs. But his batting average has slipped to .322 after he went hitless in three official at-bats in the Astros’ 4-1 loss. He still owns a 1.058 OPS.
The home run race, meanwhile, has tightened considerably.
Caminero was two home runs behind Alvarez just days ago. Now he’s even, while Olson and Schwarber have also reached 35. What had been Alvarez’s outright major-league lead is suddenly a four-way tie.
Olson and Schwarber don’t directly threaten Alvarez’s Triple Crown pursuit because both play in the National League. Caminero does.
The Triple Crown is determined by league, meaning Alvarez must lead—or tie for the lead—in batting average, home runs, and RBIs among American League hitters. With Caminero now even with him in home runs, Alvarez no longer has a cushion in the category most vulnerable to changing quickly.
The chase comes amid what has otherwise been a remarkable season for the Astros slugger. Alvarez has combined elite power with an ability to reach base and hit for average, a combination that has separated his overall offensive production from most of the game’s other premier power hitters. Last week, MLB ranked him first in its Hitter Power Rankings, noting that he led the majors in batting average, home runs, and OPS while leading the American League in RBIs.
There is still plenty of baseball remaining, and a home run race can change quickly. A two-homer lead disappeared in less than a week. Another two-homer burst could put Alvarez right back in front.
But the margin for error has disappeared.
Alvarez still has a chance to become the first American League Triple Crown winner in 14 years. If he’s going to do it, however, Caminero has made one thing clear: Yordan isn’t running alone anymore.
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