American League MVP candidate Yordan Álvarez was transported to an Atlanta-area hospital during Friday night’s game between the Astros and the Braves after abruptly leaving the field when he began to feel ill.
Houston manager Dusty Baker said after his team’s 6–2 loss that Álvarez was experiencing shortness of breath, which was exacerbated by smoke in the air after the Braves shot off fireworks at Truist Park.
“He’s being analyzed by the doctors,” Baker said, per ESPN. “They said all his vitals are good. He’s feeling normal but he still has to see our doctor. He was just, he had shortness of breath, and then when they shot the fireworks off, the smoke kind of made it worse.”
Álvarez left the game under his own power with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. When there was a pause in play after Braves infielder Vaughn Grissom fouled a ball off his foot, the Astros slugger made his was for the dugout from left field.
“I’m glad we got him out when we did,” Baker said, per MLB.com. “I looked up and he was in the dugout. It was kind of a scary moment. It could be anything. They said he’s doing fine at the moment.”
Álvarez, the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year, has been a pivotal part of the Astros’ success this season, as Houston has raced out to an AL-best 77–44 record.. The 25-year-old is slashing .295/.400/.612 with 31 homers and 77 RBIs and ranks first in the AL in on-base percentage, second in home runs, second in slugging percentage and second in OPS.
“He’s a big, big part of this team,” Baker said, per ESPN. “He’s our big boy in the middle, so we’re not thinking about losing him. We’re thinking about getting him back and hopefully he’ll be alright tomorrow.”
