AL DIVISION SERIES: MARINERS VS ASTROS

October 11, 2022

Yordan Alvarez

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Houston Astros - 8, Seattle Mariners - 7

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Yordan.

Q. They had Ray up in the bullpen pretty early in that inning. Were you expecting to face him if your spot in the order came up? And what were you doing to prepare, I guess, if you did think you were going to face him?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: Yeah, as soon as I saw him warming up, I knew that he was going to come into the game if it came down to me. And as soon as I saw that, I grabbed the iPad, saw our previous encounters, and just went out there.

Q. I know how happy you were to have your parents here this season for the first time. What did it mean to you to be able to have such a big hit in their first game ever watching you in the playoffs?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: I think it's one of the most special moments that I've had in my career, having them there, and even for just the city of Houston. They know that we're a team that never gives up. So just being able to get that hit right there was one of the most special moments of my career.

Q. Obviously a special moment having your family here. Throughout the broadcast, there was a kid that was showing that was crying during the game. After Yordan hit the home run, you could see his mood change and get super excited. What did that mean to you?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: He said if you're a fan of Houston and that didn't get you excited, get you animated, I don't know what to say. I was also speaking to my wife about somebody that wasn't having a great day, and that moment changed their day for them, and those are the small details that, you can change somebody's day with things like that.

Q. Speaking of changing someone's day, how good does it feel to get that win and to kind of save Justin Verlander's day?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: Very emotional, very special moment. Just Verlander didn't have the greatest outing, didn't have the outing that we're used to seeing from him. But just very special that I was able to help the team win.

Q. The very basics, please take me through the at-bat. What did you hit? It looked like you just missed a pitch earlier in the at-bat. And if you could, what was it like to be in the middle of the celebration being mobbed by your teammates at home plate?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: Yeah, I saw the pitcher coming in. I saw that there was a lefty that was coming into the game. I knew that he was going to try to attack me. He wasn't going to pitch around me. I just went out there and just tried to make good contact.

Q. You know you are one of two players to hit a home run walk-off with 26 outs. The other, obviously, Kirk Gibson against Dennis Eckersley. How do you feel after that?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: Like I said, just a very special moment. When I hit that ball and I saw the ball go, obviously, I could feel all the fans getting super loud and super excited. And I'm still super excited. To this moment, I still haven't fully assimilated what happened, but I think it's just one of the most special moments of my career.

Q. Dusty mentioned that having the layoff might have affected a little bit the rhythm of the team. What are your thoughts about that?

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: I think it could definitely possibly be something that happened. But there are rules in the game and that's the things, those are things that we can't control. We had to wait for the teams to play to see who we were going to play.

But, again, I think we're still a really good team and we showed what we could do out there.

Q. Not only Houston jumped during that moment, also a lot of people in Cuba. There are a lot of messages on social media about fans excited about the moment. Just asking how you can do this day in day out.

YORDAN ÁLVAREZ: I think like being in Major League Baseball there are situations that you get accustomed to. A lot of situations come up over time. I think that my mentality out there is just kind of just think of it as a regular season game and in that moment, I can control what happens in that moment, so just go out there and take action.