Yordan Alvarez, Astros aim to pick up steam vs. Rockies

samuel houston slogger Yordan Alvarez returned from a 100-game skimp on the injured lean tues and finished 0-for-2 with a pair of walks in the Astros' 6-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

The teams will play the second contest of their three-game interleague series on Wednesday night in Houston.

The Astros went 56-44 with Alvarez sidelined by a fractured right hand.

Although they dropped to 12 games over .500 with their three-time All-Star again in the lineup Tuesday, the Astros were emboldened with Alvarez back in the fold.

"Getting Yordan back is huge, not only what he means to our team and our offense, but what he means as a competitor," Astros manager Joe Espada said of Alvarez, who is batting .206 with three homers and 18 RBIs for the season. "Our team just got that much better by adding one of the best hitters in the big leagues.

"I'm happy to have him back. The goal now is to keep him in the lineup and keep this team healthy for the remainder of the season."

Left-hander Framber Valdez is scheduled to start for the Astros on Wednesday.

Valdez has lost three consecutive decisions and is winless over his last five starts after surrendering a season-high-tying seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts over five innings in a 7-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday. He has yet to record a quality start in four appearances this month and is 0-3 with a 7.33 ERA in August.

Valdez is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies. In his previous appearance against them on April 28, 2024, Valdez allowed two runs on five hits with six strikeouts over five innings in an 8-2 road victory.

Rookie right-hander Chase Dollander has the starting assignment for the Rockies on Wednesday.

Dollander allowed a season-high seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings in a 9-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday to remain winless over his last 13 starts. He has only two quality starts this season, his last coming June 19 in the Rockies' 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Washington Nationals.

Dollander, who debuted on April 6, was the pitcher of record in a 6-5 home loss to the Astros on July 1 after he allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout over 2 2/3 innings.

Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer announced on Tuesday that right- hander German Marquez will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list and will rejoin the rotation following the current road trip. Marquez will replace right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who will work in long relief moving forward.

Senzatela leads the majors in losses and hits allowed. Of his last 113 appearances dating to the start of the 2019 season, only one outing has come in relief.

"It's different the way you prepare for a game, the way that you get your body ready, especially if you've never done it before, which has never done," Schaeffer said. "It's going to be a little bit of a transition period for him, but as long as he just goes out there and competes, he should be fine."

Field Level Media

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