Yordan Alvarez back in Astros' lineup Thursday

Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez is in the starting lineup for Thursday night's series opener against right-hander Alex Cobb and the Los Angeles Angels.

What It Means:

Alvarez will bat cleanup as the designated hitter in his first start since being activated from the COVID-19 injured list. Alex Bregman will hit third and Carlos Correa will be the Astros' leadoff man. Yuli Gurriel and Kyle Tucker are lined up behind Alvarez.

numberFire’s models project Alvarez for 11.0 FanDuel points versus the Angels and he has a salary of $3,400 on Thursday. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Astros have an implied total of 4.4 runs.