Yordan Alvarez, a slugger who missed most of last year due to injury, is leading the Major League-leading homer list this season with nine and a double in a row. His homer came in the first at-bat of the season, followed by another in a 7-5 loss to the Cardinals. Alvarez, who has been homered in three of his last four games and has an RBI in his last five games, is currently slashing at least 20 RBIs in 22 games for the season. He has more home and extra-base hits (16) in 99 plate appearances this season than he had last year, and is on track to break his career high of 37 set in 2022. Alvarez's performance has been praised by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and manager Joe Espada.