In Games 3 and 4 of the World Series, Houston Astros slugger and likely American League Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez found himself on the bench. He's a poor outfield defender and manager A.J. Hinch went with two superior glovemen, Josh Reddick and Jake Marisnick, in Games 3 and 4 at Nationals Park.

Hinch decided to go with the superior hitter in Game 5 and started Alvarez (normally the team's designated hitter) in left field Sunday night, specifically because Gerrit Cole racks up so many strikeouts and allows fewer balls in play. That means fewer defensive opportunities for Alvarez. Hinch also didn't want Alvarez sitting too long between starts. He pinch-hit in Games 3 and 4, but only pinch-hit.

"I'm completely comfortable with Alvarez in left field," Hinch said. "I think he is limited in some ways in his range and in his experience, but he's not a liability. He's going to catch the balls he's supposed to catch. He's going to make the plays he's supposed to make."

It did not take long for the decision to start Alvarez to pay dividends. He slugged a two-run home run in his first at-bat to give the Astros a 2-0 lead in Game 5 (GameTracker):

Believe it or not, that is Alvarez's first home run in more than a month. He last went deep Sept. 21 against the Angels. He'd gone 79 plate appearances between home runs. Also, at 22 years and 122 days old, Alvarez is the youngest American League player to go deep in the World Series since Tony Kubek for the Yankees in 1957.

Air Yordan went 3 for 8 with two walks in Games 1-4 of the World Series before hitting the home run in Game 5. That's after going 1 for 22 in the ALCS. Hinch stuck with Alvarez and has been rewarded nicely.