ARLINGTON, Texas – Yordan Alvarez has been such a transcendent performer, the lifeblood of the Houston Astros’ offense, that he presents a quandary for his manager, Dusty Baker:
Get him to the plate as much as possible? Or try to cram the bases full of teammates before he bats?
In Game 3 of the ALCS, Alvarez batted fourth a second consecutive game, and the parts moved around him a great bit. Struggling outfielder Kyle Tucker was dropped to the No. 6 hole while Michael Brantley – who missed 15 months with a shoulder injury before returning in August – moved up to second.
“Try to put as many guys on base in front of Alvarez as possible. And so that’s what went into my decision,” says Baker.
He can only hope Jose Altuve, Brantley and new No. 3 hitter Alex Bregman find their way on base in front of Alvarez, whose epic postseason is threatened by the Astros’ 2-0 ALCS deficit.
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Brantley has six home runs in six postseason games, including two in a 5-4 Game 2 loss at Houston. He has 12 career postseason homers – the most by a Cuban player in playoff history – including a mammoth sixth-inning shot to push the Astros ahead in Game 6 of the World Series as they closed out the Phillies.
“Last year he was so hot that the next series they stopped pitching to him,” Baker said of Alvarez’s epic 2022 run that began with game-saving homers against Seattle in the ALDS. “We’ve got a tremendous…
