Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez leaves game against Rangers with sprained left ankle

HOUSTON (AP) — Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez will undergo an MRI on Tuesday after he left Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers with a sprained left ankle.

“It did not look good out on the field,” Houston manager Joe Espada said following a 6-3 win over the Rangers.

Through a team spokesman, Alvarez declined to speak with reporters after the game until he knows more about the nature of his injury. But he was seen leaving the clubhouse on a crutch with a boot on his left foot.

After scoring from first base on a throwing error by Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter on Carlos Correa’s infield single in the first inning, Alvarez was tended to by an athletic trainer outside the Astros' dugout and then helped down the steps. Zach Cole entered the game in right field in the second inning, with Jesus Sanchez moving from right field to Alvarez's position in left.

“I saw him coming around, and when he stepped on home plate I had a front-row seat,” Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena said. "His ankle kind of twisted. Then when he went to plant again, I saw it twist again. It’s not pretty. You don’t want to see that.”

With Alvarez out of the game, Cole went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and three RBIs as the Astros increased their lead for the final American League wild card to three games over Cleveland and Texas. They pulled with a half-game of Seattle for first place in the AL West.

A three-time All-Star and the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year, Alvarez entered Monday batting .273 with six home runs and 27 RBIs. He's been limited to 47 games this season because of a broken right hand that forced him to miss 101 games.

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