Yordan to undergo MRI after spraining left ankle

HOUSTON -- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez left Monday night’s 6-3 victory over the Rangers at Daikin Park after spraining his left ankle while scoring a first-inning run.

Alvarez, who was on crutches and had his left foot in a walking boot, declined to address reporters after the game. A team spokesman said Alvarez didn’t want to speak publicly until getting results from an MRI scheduled for Tuesday.

“It did not look good on the field,” Astros manager Joe Espada acknowledged after the game.

Alvarez had drawn a walk to put runners at first and second. When Carlos Correa’s dribbler was errantly thrown to first base by Texas pitcher Jack Leiter, Alvarez came all the way around to score standing up, following Jeremy Peña to the plate to put the Astros up 2-0.

Alvarez stumbled after coming down awkwardly on the plate, then limped the rest of the way to the dugout, where he was examined by Espada and an Astros trainer.

“I saw him coming around [third base],” Peña said. “And then when he stepped on home plate, I had a front-row seat. His ankle kind of twisted, and when he had to plant again, I saw it twist again. And it’s not pretty. You don’t want to see that, especially Yordan Alvarez. We need him.”

Alvarez did not take the field in the top of the second. He was replaced in the lineup by Zach Cole, who entered the game in right field and wound up contributing a go-ahead homer and RBI single. Jesús Sánchez shifted to left field in place of Alvarez.

Alvarez missed 100 games from May 3 through Aug. 25 with a hand injury he had originally played through. What was originally diagnosed as a muscle strain in his right hand turned out to be a fracture. Since returning to the lineup on Aug. 26, Alvarez was hitting .369 with a 1.024 OPS in 18 games entering Monday.