There’s little doubt that Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is the front-runner for the American League Most Valuable Player Award with the midpoint of the season quickly approaching. But can he keep it up and join Jeff Bagwell and Jose Altuve as the club’s only players to win the honor? Alvarez cranked the Astros’ first grand slam of the season -- and the fifth of his career -- to move into the AL lead in homers (22) and RBIs (48), guiding Houston to a 13-2 rout of the A’s on Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park. Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, improving his season slash line to .316/.430/.654. The only thing that may keep Alvarez from winning the MVP would be an injury, but he’s played in all but one game this season after missing over 100 games in 2025. Everything is lining up for Alvarez to have a huge summer. “From what I’ve seen, he’s got a serious chance at it,” said teammate Christian Walker, who was leading the AL in RBIs entering Saturday before Alvarez passed him. “The ability to execute at a high level and dominate, but then to do it night in and night out is so impressive. I think his ability to command the strike one and make good decisions and take his walks seriously increases his chances. I’ll definitely be rooting for him, for sure. It’s a lot of fun to watch.” The Astros also got homers from Lamonte Wade Jr. -- his first with Houston -- and Altuve, the 2017 AL MVP who led off the bottom of the third inning with the 260th homer of his career. Houston scored five times in the second behind the homers from Wade and Alvarez and added six runs in the fifth, including two-run doubles by Wade and Jeremy Peña, an RBI double by Christian Vázquez and a Jake Meyers RBI single.
