Which Walk-Off Was Your Favorite? Both
The Astros won on Sunday on a walk-off home run from Jeremy Pena and on Monday on a walk-off home run from Yordan Alvarez. I celebrate the fun those two created.
Who’s your favorite is a fun game. Why? Because no answer is correct, but each answer is revealing. Beatles or Stones? Mountains or beaches? Chocolate or vanilla? No answer is right, but the answers help you learn about the other person.
Then there are who’s your favorite questions which are too close to give a single answer: Washington or Lincoln? Run or DMC? And of course, Jeremy Pena’s walk-off home run on Sunday or Yordan’s walk-off home run on Monday.
I’ll make the case for each walk-off homer below, but the important part is that it does not matter which one you prefer. Both were awesome and fun, and have extended a winning streak that has now reached win streak that has reached 7 games.
Jeremy Pena on Sunday
Jeremy Pena was the mystery man for the Astros entering the 2022 season. He had risen as a prospect, but had done so off the radar in many ways, having played only 30 games above A ball due to the pandemic and an injury in 2021. And he was replacing franchise legend Carlos Correa at shortstop.
Pena’s walk off home run on Sunday caps off a first half of this first season in the majors that couldn’t have gone much better. Pena, led by his outstanding defense, ranks 8th in the American League in bWAR at 3.5. He’s been better than anybody could imagine (though maybe James Click should be excluded here).
Pena’s 2-run walkoff gave the Astros a victory in a game it seemed that they dominated throughout. Astros pitchers struck out 20 Angels, and Martin Maldonado pantsed Taylor Ward by sneaking behind him to catch him off first base on a single. In short, the home run was needed to make the outcome right.
Pena’s home run also provided a lesson in morality. The Angels were without their best reliever Raisel Iglesias, who was serving a suspension for throwing sunflower seeds onto the field at the end of a brawl instigated by his manager’s choice to insert lightly used reliever Andrew Wantz as an opener for the purpose of throwing at Julio Rodriguez and Jesse Winker of the Mariners. The Angels were compelled to use Ryan Tepera instead, and his stuff on Sunday can best be described as sketchy.
And the home run was aesthetically pleasing. Pena seemed to get a lot of the ball and the camera showed Angels centerfielder Mike Trout going back and going back and going back. The ball was carrying more than it looked off of the bat, and then all of a sudden Trout looked up and the ball was behind the fence. “Ballgame over!” exclaimed Todd Kalas, speaking for all of us.
Yordan Alvarez on Monday
Yordan Alvarez is a star level player, but he often lacks star level attention. Some of that is that he plays on a team with so many other star level players, and some of that is a more reserved personality where he lets his bat do the talking. Even after Alvarez won the MVP award in last year’s American League Championship Series, he seemed to receive less attention this off-season than some of this teammates, much less more heralded players across the game.
So Alvarez’s 2022 has been attention getting. He leads the American League in Slugging Percentage and On Base Plus Slugging (OPS). He is near the top of the leaderboard in traditional categories (2nd in the AL in homers, 3rd in RBIs, 4th in runs scored); and is at the top of more advanced stats, such as OPS+ (201), Adjusted Batting Wins (3.3), and Win Probability Added (3.1). And, more importantly to Alvarez’s future descendants, he signed a $115 million contract extension that will pay him $26 million a season for the 2026 through the 2028 season.
Alvarez’s home run on Monday capped the team’s only comeback this season from a deficit of 3 runs or more.1 The Astros fell behind early as Jake Odorizzi was not sharp in his first start off the IL. The Royals jumped out to a 5-0 lead through a combination of their ability to make contact against mediocre stuff from Odorizzi and an upper deck shot from rookie catcher M.J. Melendez. Even the best baseball teams lose about 60 game and this looked like one of those.
Then the Astros bullpen steading the ship on the mound, as Seth Martinez pitched three scoreless innings. The offense chipped away at the Royals lead, scoring single runs in the 4th, 5th, and 7th. That set up an 8th inning, where the Royals bullpen walked the based loaded and singles from Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel tied the game. All of a sudden the Astros were back from the dead, and in a ballgame.
A ballgame which ended an inning later. Royals closer Scott Barlow intended to throw a backdoor slider at the bottom of the strike zone, hoping to miss down if he missed. Instead he hung the pitch, getting too much of the plate and leaving the plate thigh level. In short, it’s a pitch that a hitter as talented and hot as Alvarez shouldn’t miss. He didn’t.
He hit the ball at 112.6 MPH at a 25 degree launch angle. It was, in Todd Kalas’s words, “an explosion off his bat.” There was no doubt to anyone the ball would end up over the fence. And 444 feet later, the ball ended up over the Astros bullpen in center field and into the hat of an excited Astros fan. And Alvarez screamed in excitement as he neared home plate to be mobbed by his teammates.
They’re Both Great
Which is better? It depends on what you like. One in a comeback win or one that ends a pitcher’s duel. One that seems to keep going until it clears the head of one the game’s modern day legends? Or one that is gone the second it is hit? One that seals the emergence of a prospect as a rookie star? Or one that seals the emergence of a former rookie star as one of the game’s best?
The great thing for us as Astro fans is that we do not have to choose. We can enjoy both of them just as much. We can celebrate the fact that Jeremy Pena has emerged better than we could have ever imagined to to be our shortstop. We can celebrate the persistence of Astros scout Charlie Gonzalez, who pursued Alvarez before the Dodgers signed him and insisted his bosses acquire him in return for Josh Fields at the trade deadline in 2016.
And most of all, we can celebrate the fact that on the Fourth of July, our favorite team has a 13.5 game lead in the American League West and a 99.9% chance of winning the division, according to Fangraphs. Our boys have that lead thanks for outstanding players like Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez. It was fun to watch them hit walk off home runs the last two games. But heck, it’s fun to watch them most every night.