Yordan Alvarez is swinging the bat like he’s ready to return to the Astros lineup.

Alvarez roped three hits, including a pair of doubles, in his second Minor League rehab outing on Thursday night for Double-A Corpus Christi. He finished the night 3-for-4 with a strikeout and an RBI, serving as the team’s designated hitter.

In the first inning, Alvarez laced a double into the right-center-field gap; then, in the third inning, he lined another double down the right-field line. The three-time All-Star is now 5-for-8 across two rehab games after recording two hits in first rehab appearance on Tuesday.

Alvarez -- sidelined since May 2 with a fractured right hand and subsequent inflammation -- is on the verge of a long-awaited return. On Tuesday, Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed that th

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