Will Yordan Alvarez play tonight against Cardinals? All you need to know about Astros star's status on April 16

Modified Apr 16, 2025 16:12 GMT

MLB: Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros - Source: Imagn — Will Yordan Alvarez play tonight against Cardinals? All you need to know about Astros star's status on April 16 (Imagn)

Yordan Alvarez has arguably been Houston Astros' best hitter since he came up and joined the MLB team. This year, that's been even more true.

The Astros lost some key offensive players, and Alvarez struggled to start the year. So did the offense. He's still not playing at his usual All-Star level.

The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported that Alvarez will be sitting on the bench against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, but there's nothing to worry about. The slugger is not injured. This was a planned day off to get Alvarez some rest and to allow him to refocus.

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Against Steven Matz, the Astros will roll out this lineup sans Alvarez:

Jose Altuve, DH
Jeremy Pena, shortstop
Isaac Paredes, 3B
Christian Walker, 1B
Yainer Diaz, C
Brendan Rodgers, 2B
Jake Meyers, CF
Cam Smith, RF
Chas McCormick, LF

Alvarez should be back in the lineup again Friday against the San Diego Padres.

Yordan Alvarez passes major milestone

The Houston Astros are 8-9 this year. Yordan Alvarez is hitting with an OPS below .700 for the season. Despite that, at least for one game, things came together for both of them.

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The Astros got a huge shutout win behind Hunter Brown, and Alvarez passed a huge milestone for his career. His solo shot in the eighth inning doubled the Astros' lead, but it also tied him for eighth on the all-time franchise list.

The slugger has 166 career home runs after that blast, which is now tied for eighth in franchise history with Glenn Davis. One more and he'll break the tie and move into seventh.

Yordan Alvarez is tied for eighth in team home runs (Imagn)

He does have a real way to go to reach the top. Jeff Bagwell sits atop the leaderboard with 449 home runs. Lance Berkman is second with 326. Craig Biggio is third with 291.

Alvarez's teammate, Jose Altuve, ranks fourth in franchise history with 232. Some former teammates, including Alex Bregman and George Springer, are in between Alvarez and the top as well.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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Edited by Ribin Peter