Yordan Alvarez Walks Into Washington and the Story Writes Itself

Houston is not supposed to be the underdog. And yet here sit the Astros, priced as the dog against a Washington Nationals team that has been one of baseball’s more pleasant surprises — and Yordan Alvarez, hitting .320 with 29 home runs, is the one being asked to drag them back to relevance.

James Wood has 23 home runs for Washington, and at this point the Nationals’ young outfielder is no longer a prospect — he’s a problem. Miles Mikolas gets the start for the home side, a veteran craftsman who has been to the rodeo enough times to not be rattled by Yordan Alvarez. Maybe.

Mike Burrows takes the ball for Houston in what reads like a franchise at a crossroads: an aging window, a transcendent hitter still in his prime, and a rotation that remains a question mark. The line itself — Washington favored at home — is the subplot. The Nationals hosting an Astros team as the price-setter is not how anyone drew this up.

A fading dynasty, a rising opponent, and Yordan Alvarez quietly having a monster season in the wrong standings — this one earns a firm extra on the Chunk Scale.