Yordan Alvarez Leads Houston Astros to World Series Title After Hitting Massive Go-Ahead Home Run

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With a massive swing, Yordan Alvarez helped propel the Houston Astros to a second World Series title.

The 25-year-old Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder hit a clutch late-inning home run to help the Astros take Game 6 from the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night by a 4-1 margin.

Yordan AlvarezIn the process Alvarez helped secure Houston’s second title in the last six years.

Alvarez came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with runners on first and third and one out in the inning. The Phillies, who had taken a 1-0 lead in the top half of the frame on a Kyle Schwarber home run, elected to replace right-handed starter Zack Wheeler with left-handed reliever José Alvarado. Unfortunately for Phillies manager Rob Thomson and crew, that decision did not pay off.

Alvarado fell behind 2-1 to Alvarez before throwing a 99 mph sinker that caught far too much of the plate. Alvarez made Alvarado pay for the mistake, too, crushing a home run to dead center that left his bat traveling at 112.5 mph and carried some 450 feet, according to Statcast. The home run gave the Astros a 3-1 lead with just nine outs separating them from another title.

The Astros’ win expectancy swung from 50.5 percent prior to the home run to 84.3 percent afterward, per FanGraphs‘ calculations

Alvarez had a big postseason in one respect, as he showed a knack for delivering go-ahead home runs. According to MLB.com‘s Sarah Langs‘ research, he became the only player in Major League Baseball history to record three go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning or later of a postseason game. To be clear: that’s on a career level, yet Alvarez did it all in this postseason alone.

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