Angels intentionally walk Astros' Yordan Alvarez twice in season opener

Houston's lack of left-handed hitters in the lineup exposed against Angels' pitching staff

Mar. 27, 2026 at 3:03am

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In the Houston Astros' 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day, Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was intentionally walked twice by Angels manager Kurt Suzuki. The moves allowed Angels starter José Soriano to avoid facing Alvarez, one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and instead pitch to other batters in the Astros' predominantly right-handed lineup. The Astros struggled to create scoring opportunities against Soriano, who held them to just two hits over six scoreless innings.

Why it matters

The intentional walks of Alvarez highlighted the Astros' lack of left-handed hitters in their lineup, which allowed the Angels to gain a platoon advantage with their right-handed pitchers. This imbalance in the Astros' lineup could be an ongoing issue for the team if they don't address it, as opposing managers will likely continue to try to neutralize Alvarez by pitching around him.

The details

In the third inning, with a runner on second base and two outs, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki opted to intentionally walk Alvarez rather than pitch to him. Later in the game, with two runners on base, Suzuki again brought in a right-handed pitcher to face Alvarez instead of using one of the left-handers in his bullpen. Astros manager Joe Espada acknowledged that the Angels 'came in with a pretty good game plan on how they're going to pitch to us' by deploying a predominantly right-handed pitching staff against Houston's lineup, which features just two left-handed hitters in Alvarez and Joey Loperfido.

  • In the third inning, with a runner on second base and two outs, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez.
  • Later in the game, with two runners on base, Suzuki brought in a right-handed pitcher to face Alvarez instead of using one of the left-handers in his bullpen.

The players

Yordan Alvarez

A slugger for the Houston Astros who is considered one of the most feared hitters in Major League Baseball.

Kurt Suzuki

The first-year manager of the Los Angeles Angels.

José Soriano

The starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, who held the Astros to just two hits over six scoreless innings.

Carlos Correa

An Astros player who noted that intentionally walking Alvarez is a common strategy against one of the league's most feared hitters.

Joe Espada

The manager of the Houston Astros.

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What they’re saying

“I saw the manager giving the signs to the catcher, so I think I knew it before even the catcher did.”

— Yordan Alvarez

“When you think about most feared hitters in the league, you've got (Shohei) Ohtani, (Aaron) Judge and Yordan, right, so whoever is hitting behind him is going to see that situation happen a lot. It doesn't surprise me.”

— Carlos Correa, Astros player

“They came in a with a pretty good game plan on how they're going to pitch to us; we've just got to make adjustments. I think it had nothing to do with how many righties we had. I just thought they came in and they were going to force us to stay inside the ball, use the middle of the field, and we're just going to have to make that adjustment as we move on.”

— Joe Espada, Astros manager

What’s next

The Astros will look to make adjustments to their approach at the plate and find ways to create more scoring opportunities against right-handed pitching as the season progresses.

The takeaway

The Angels' strategy of intentionally walking Alvarez and deploying a predominantly right-handed pitching staff exposed the Astros' lack of left-handed hitters in their lineup. This imbalance could be an ongoing issue for Houston if they don't address it, as opposing teams will likely continue to try to neutralize Alvarez by pitching around him.