Astros Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve Have Cooled Off From the Plate to Start September

The Houston Astros now have just a two-game lead over the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West and will definitely need some strong batting from the plate and strong performances from the mound to be able to secure that lead.

Speaking of the batting, two of the Astros top batter in designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and second baseman Jose Altuve have both cooled off from the plate to start September which is not ideal for Houston with the postseason just around the corner.

While Alvarez and Altuve are not batting well to start September, it has only been a week, so there is still time, but their performance will be something to pay attention to.

Starting with Alvarez, cooling off is a relative term for him based on the season he has had. Throughout the season one of the biggest storylines has been his chase for the Triple Crown which has been very entertaining to watch.

In August, Alvarez took a step back in terms of his batting average, home runs, and RBIs. While Alvarez does have a commanding lead in batting average, the race for the lead in RBIs and home runs did get a lot tighter but he is still in a good position to win the Triple Crown as long as gets back into a rhythm.

To start September, Alvarez has 20 at-bats, and in those opportunities he has recorded three runs, five hits, one RBI, one home run, struck out six times, and has posted a batting average of .250.

With the start Alvarez has had in the final month of the regular season, he does need to pick up his play, otherwise, he may lose out on the Triple Crown.

Now looking at Altuve, he had a strong month of September as he ranked near the top on the Astros in a variety of batting statistics, but unfortunately, to start the month of September, he has not been able to keep that up.

So far in September, Altuve has had 22 at-bats, and in those chances, he has tallied three runs, five hits, one home run, three RBIs, has been struck out five times, and posted a batting average of .227.

Based on how Altuve has started this month, he does need to pick it up so he can help Houston generate consistent offense from the plate, otherwise, the Astros may have a very tough time putting runs on the board in the postseason.

So, after looking at the stats from the plate to start September from Alvarez and Altuve, it is pretty clear that both of them need to be able to ramp up their efficiency and effectiveness from the plate, because if they do not, this team may have a serious problem keeping up with opposing offenses in the postseason.