\u201cThis is the way we need to come here and play today,\u201d Astros manager Joe Espada said<\/a>. \u201cAny other way wasn\u2019t going to be acceptable. We needed to come here today and play like a team that is hunting to win a division, and we did.\u201d<\/p>\n Having Alvarez in the nightly lineup<\/a> surely helps, and his history of success at Yankee Stadium bodes well for the next two games.<\/p>\n Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez loves hitting at Yankee Stadium Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n Alvarez entered Wednesday hitting .333 with nine home runs, 17 RBI and a .968 OPS in 80 regular-season plate appearances at Yankee Stadium. Those are the most home runs he’s hit at any stadium outside the AL West, though it would be difficult to blame any Yankees fans for feeling like that total is missing an extra digit.\u00a0<\/p>\n And while comparing Alvarez to famed Yankee killer David Ortiz is admittedly unfair, there\u2019s definitely a familiar feeling when he steps into the batter\u2019s box in the Bronx. Both have similar frames \u2014 Alvarez is 6-foot-4 and 237 pounds, whereas the Red Sox typically listed Ortiz at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds \u2014 and possess left-handed swings perfectly built for Yankee Stadium.<\/p>\n Ortiz hit .316 with 16 home runs, 35 RBI and a 1.025 OPS over 247 regular-season plate appearances at the old Yankee Stadium. Those in the Bronx might not appreciate the reminder, but Ortiz also added three more homers in the playoffs, including one in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even a move to the new stadium in 2009 couldn\u2019t stop Ortiz, who had 15 homers and a .794 OPS in 268 plate appearances at the new venue. Luckily for the Yankees, they didn\u2019t meet the Red Sox there in a postseason series until 2018, two years after Ortiz\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n Interestingly, Alvarez hasn’t yet homered at Yankee Stadium through five postseason games in the Bronx. Given the Yankees\u2019 luck, that\u2019ll probably change this October.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the postseason began today, the Yankees would be the No. 4 seed and host the No. 5 Red Sox in the Wild Card Series<\/a>. Despite having a worse record than those two, the Astros would have home-field advantage over the No. 6 seed (currently the Guardians) by way of winning the AL West.<\/p>\n![\"Houston](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01m0zcb2jeawbqfb5hbj.jpg\" "\\"Houston")
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