Astros tweak lineup for Game 2, Yordan Alvarez playing through illness

Who's in, who's out

Yordan Alvarez Astros

Yordan Alvarez is playing through a virus, per report. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros host the Texas Rangers for Game 2 of the ALCS this afternoon at Minute Maid. Manager Dusty Baker made some adjustments to the lineup, with Michael Brantley playing left field on Monday.

Chas McCormick will move to center field, with Mauricio Dubon out of today's starting lineup. Kyle Tucker moved up from 5th to 3rd in the lineup, with Yordan Alvarez hitting 4th and Jose Abreu hitting 5th, after he hit cleanup in Game 1.

Framber Valdez takes the mound for Houston, and Nathan Eovalde will pitch for the Rangers.


Yordan Alvarez under the weather?

Dusty Baker spoke with The Athletic's Chandler Rome about an illness Yordan Alvarez is dealing with.

Screenshot via: Chandler Rome/X.

According to reports, Yordan was not present for introductions before Game 1. Based on Alvarez's struggles at the plate (0-4 3Ks) on Sunday, it's not surprising to hear that he wasn't feeling well.

Let's hope Yordan is feeling much better today, and the Astros are able to even the series.

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Houston Rockets keep rolling as VanVleet torches Heat

Rockets defeat the Heat, 102-98. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images.

Fred VanVleet scored 37 points and the surging Houston Rockets won their ninth straight, beating the Miami Heat 102-98 Friday night.

VanVleet shot 13 for 17 from the field and made a season-high 9 of 11 3-pointers as the Rockets extended the league’s longest active winning streak. Houston also snapped a nine-game skid against Miami, which lost its 10th straight. It is the Heat’s longest skid since they lost 11th straight in 2007-08.

Amen Thompson returned after missing the last six games because of a sprained left ankle and finished with 18 points and seven steals while Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith each added 11 points for the Rockets.

Houston rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter and got to 80-78 on Jalen Green’s jumper to close the period.

Miami’s Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points, his highest total since the Heat acquired him from Golden State for Jimmy Butler on Feb. 6. Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo also scored 16 points for the Heat.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston remained second in the Western Conference.

Heat: Miami squandered its 20th double digit lead that led to a loss. Wiggins’ jump shot two minutes into the third period put the Heat ahead 65-54 before Houston rallied.

Key moment

VanVleet went on a personal 9-2 run to start the fourth that put the Rockets ahead for good. He hit two 3-pointers, a lay-up and made 1 of 2 free throws that gave Houston an 87-84 lead.

Key stat

The Rockets outrebounded the Heat 46-34 for their eighth consecutive game of winning the rebounding edge against their opponent.

Up next

Rockets host Denver on Sunday, and Heat host Charlotte.

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