Yordan Alvarez may owe the people at Tropicana Field a check.
The Astros slugger appeared to crack the scoreboard with a long hit to right field during batting practice ahead of Houston’s 3-2 win over the Rays on Tuesday.
The ball hit by Alvarez initially appeared to have only damaged a side panel of the outfield digital scoreboard, According to MLB.com:The center panel had a glitch, causing all three panels to go dark at the start of the game.
Stadium host Nate Krant told fans there were “technical issues” with the scoreboard.
The 27-year-old Alvarez had some fun joking around after the fight when asked by reporters about his hard hitting in batting practice.
“You’re trying to get me in trouble,” he said through a translator. “You’re the one who posted that picture. There was no video showing it was me. I don’t know why. I’m not gonna pay that bill.”
He continued to try to go along with that story, claiming there was no video to prove he was the one who hit the ball into the scoreboard.
“There was no video so I don’t know who it was,” he said.
Tuesday wasn’t the first time he’s done so.
During his rookie season in 2019, Alvarez smashed a ball into Minute Maid Park’s massive video board that traveled an estimated 455 feet, forcing the stadium to turn off part of the scoreboard.
Alvarez acknowledged that fact, acknowledging that he sometimes targets adding power to his swing during batting practice.
“Sometimes during BP I try to put some intention into my swing,” he said.
The Astros will play their final game on Wednesday against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
