Two years after winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, Yordan Álvarez has another honor on his resume.
He was the MVP of the American League Championship Series.
The 24-year-old Cuban was 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple for the Houston Astros, who beat the Boston Red Sox 5-0 on Friday to advance to the World Series.
Alvarez pushed the run out of the lead and scored the second.
He missed the entire previous postseason, while recovering from surgery on both knees. He set an AFC Championship Series record, hitting .522 (23-12), with one homer, three doubles, triple and six RBIs for Houston to win in six games.
Against the Red Sox, he scored seven times and had nine hits in his last 13 at-bats, raising his postseason average to .441 with two homers and nine RBIs.
“I just focused on doing my job,” said Alvarez, who hit a hit in every game.
He singled as part of a seven-run attack in the ninth inning of the fourth game, a 9-2 win for Houston. The following night, he hit a home run that led to Chris Sale in the second inning, two before hitting a two-touchdown double for Houston to take a three-run lead.
The Astros won that game 9-1.
Alvarez hit an RBI double in the first inning of Friday’s game. He added a triple in the sixth and was alert to rush home from third base, beating a shot from Kyle Schwarber, who had converted an unassisted double play on a Kyle Tucker ground ball early.
“He’s just that kind of hitter who can win a game on his own,” said Xander Bogaerts of Boston.
During the season, Alvarez hit .277 and set his career-best stats with 33 home runs and 104 RBIs, the highest for the team. He became the second-youngest Astros player to reach 100 RBIs, behind Cesar Cedeño in 1974.
He was also the youngest to hit 30 home runs.
He joined Venezuelan José Altuve (2019) and Justin Verlander (2017) as the Most Valuable Players of the American League Championship Series with Houston. When Houston was part of the National League, Mike Scott (1986) and Roy Oswalt (2005) earned the honors. (AP)