(Photo credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images)

With nine-time All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve back in the fold and just one position player of note -- catcher Yainer Diaz -- yet to return from a stint on the injured list, it's easy to understand how the conversation turned to the Houston Astros' depth, particularly given how well they have played of late.

But Houston's 13-2 victory over the Athletics on Saturday reinforced an obvious truth: three-time All-Star Yordan Alvarez is the straw that stirs the Astros' drink.

Houston clinched the three-game set with the Athletics and will pursue a needed series sweep on Sunday afternoon. Alvarez struck the biggest blow in a 14-hit attack on Saturday when he crushed his fifth career grand slam, and first at home, in the second inning.

Alvarez snapped a tie with Alex Bregman for sixth in club history with 192 home runs.

A spotty injury history has prevented Alvarez from recording a 40-homer season, but he seems well on his way to reaching that benchmark this year. He leads the American League with 22 home runs and 48 RBIs and also is second with a .316 batting average.

Alvarez also leads the majors in OPS (1.083) and total bases (153), and as he turns 29 later this month, appears to be performing at the height of his powers.

'How good is he?' Astros manager Joe Espada asked rhetorically. 'Just a really good hitter. In big moments, he rises to the occasion. He just finds a way to boost our club.

'Just a really good hitter.'

Right-hander Mike Burrows (3-7, 5.66 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros on Sunday. He has the most losses in the AL and also has allowed the most earned runs (43) and home runs (15).

Burrows yielded a pair of homers in the Astros' 10-6 loss to his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, last Tuesday and has surrendered at least one home run in four consecutive starts. Burrows is 1-3 with a 6.85 ERA during that stretch.

He faced the Athletics once previously. He worked four scoreless innings with five hits and three strikeouts on his ledger in the Pirates' 11-0 home victory on Sept. 21, 2025.

Rookie left-hander Gage Jump (1-1, 3.75) will start the series finale for the Athletics on Sunday. He was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas on May 26 to make his major league debut against the Seattle Mariners, allowing four runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts across five innings in a 4-1 loss.

Jump was the winning pitcher in a 2-1 victory over the host Chicago Cubs last Tuesday after allowing one run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts in seven innings.

He went 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in nine starts with Las Vegas. He was leading the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts (56) and wild pitches (nine) at the time of his promotion. Jump will make his first career appearance against the Astros.

After having his 10-game hitting streak snapped in the series opener, a 5-1 Astros victory, Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI single. Following a rough patch, he is batting .364 with three homers, 10 RBIs and 11 walks over his last 16 games.

'Objectively, when you look at what Tyler went through, there was a lot of bad luck,' Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. 'He was taking some consistent at-bats and not getting results. And there was a short window, in my opinion, where he started pressing, trying to get those results.

'Now he's getting the results, which, obviously, builds confidence.'

--Field Level Media