HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Yordan Alvarez continues to be a force in the Astros' lineup.
Alvarez homered with three RBIs in Saturday's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The performance extended his on-base streak to 14 games, the longest since George Springer's 15-game streak last season.
"It's something I'm aware of," Alvarez said Saturday night. "I know what I'm doing out there. But it's also something that I try not to pay too much attention to or focus on, because if you focus too much on those kinds of things, that can make you a little bit anxious out there and try to do too much on the field. So I'm out there just trying to do my job. It's something I look at, but it's not something I focus too much on."
His at-bats are appointment viewing and Alvarez is making Major League Baseball history along the way. He became the fastest player in the expansion era (since 1961) to reach 100 RBI and the seventh-fastest all-time.
Michael Brantley represented the 100th run batted in. Brantley and Alvarez, undoubtedly the Astros' best left-handed bats, shared a laugh about it.
Alvarez did not realize at the time how historically fast he'd achieved 100 RBI.
The 23-year-old Cuban slugger is coming to his own after missing most of the shortened 2020 season to have knee surgery.
And he's not just hitting for power, but also for contact.
The two-run shot he hit off Blue Jays pitcher Steven Matz went opposite field to the Crawfish Boxes with a 97.2 mph exit velocity.
For comparison, Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa doubled and grounded out on contact of 106.9 mph and 106.5 mph, respectively.
Which is to say, Alvarez is making good enough contact to hit the ball the opposite way, not nearly as hard and still produce runs.
"He's a hitter with slugger's power. These are the kind of guys you want on your team," Astros manager Dusty Baker said after Saturday's game. "It doesn't matter how you get the job done. Everybody talks about exit speed, but I always talk about exit hits. Whether it's a soft single, whether it's a homer, or whatever, this guy has a knack of driving in runs, no matter if it's a right-hander or a left-hander. And he's getting better and better and better.
"A week ago, I saw him getting his balance together and getting his opposite field power like he did tonight. It's a pleasure and joy to watch him hit. He just gets the job done."
