>
Houston, we have NO problem! Yordan Alvarez seals incredible 8-7 comeback win for the Astros with a walk-off home run to prevent an upset loss to the Seattle Mariners in Game One
- The Seattle Mariners lost a 6-3 lead against the Houston Astros in Game One
- Trailing 7-5 in the ninth inning, the Houston Astros had two on, two out
- Yordan Alvarez stepped up and hit a 116.7 mph walk-off home run to take a win
- The walk-off win sets the tone in Game One for the rest of the ALDS series
- Click here for all your latest international sports news from DailyMail.com
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
The Houston Astros took a miraculous, clutch win in Game One against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
The Astros lost 7-5 in the ninth inning with two on, two out, when Yordan Alvarez stepped into the penalty area.
He faced Robbie Ray of Mariners, who had come in to face the All-Star designated batter.
Ray threw two pitches and on the second, Alvarez hit a walk-off homerun to take the win.
Alvarez’s three-run home run strengthened the Houston Astros’ first lead in the game and a walk-off win to set the tone in Game 1 of the series.
The Houston Astros took a smashing win in Game One against the Mariners
The Astros celebrate their 8-7 walk-off win against the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of ALDS
Alvarez celebrated with his Cuban family after hitting a walk-off three home run to the death
The Astros were 0-48 in their postseason history when they trailed more than one run after eight innings, until Alvarez homered deep into the seats of Minute Maid Park.
The undisputed drive was the first walk-off homer in postseason history with a team leaving multiple runs. And it was just the team’s second home run to the last out – the other was Kirk Gibson’s surprise shot that lifted the Dodgers over the A’s in the 1988 World Series opener.
Houston rookie pinch-hitter David Hensley reached with one out in the ninth when Seattle closer Paul Sewald grazed his jersey with a pitch. Sewald struckout Jose Altuve before Jeremy Peña singled into midfield to chase Sewald.
Mariners manager Scott Servais then made the bold move to bring in Ray, who started Saturday in Toronto’s AL wildcard series, for a lefty vs. lefty matchup with Alvarez. Ray won the Cy Young Award with Toronto last year, had only six relief appearances in his career and had never earned a pro save.
LEFTY vs LEFTY: Alvarez sent Cy Young Award winner Robby Ray’s second pitch into the stands
The Mariners led the entire game in what appeared to be a disruption, until the 9th inning
Seattle’s third baseman Eugenio Saurez (28) is congratulated on his third inning homerun
A percentage move – or was it?
Alvarez had a .998 OPS against lefthanded pitchers this season, by far the highest of the qualified lefthanded batters, and hit 10 home runs. And his batting average against lefties was .321, compared to .299 vs. right-handers.
Alvarez, who hit 37 home runs in the regular season, turned Servais’ plan around by launching Ray’s second pitch into the right field seats to start a wild party with his Cuban parents in the stands.
The Mariners, who were back in the playoffs this year for the first time since 2001, this time found themselves on the wrong side of a major comeback after falling seven points behind in Game 2 to beat their wildcard series with Toronto.
Robbie Ray played in a rare auxiliary role as part of Seattle’s strategy to wipe out the Astros’ batters
The Mariners jumped off Verlander for six runs in just four innings to build a 6-2 lead early on. Yuli Gurriel hit a solo homer in the fourth in Houston, before Eugenio Suarez’s solo shot in the seventh extended Seattle’s lead to 7-3.
A two-run homerun by Alex Bregman off Andrés Muñoz narrowed the lead to 7-5 in the eighth inning and ensured a dramatic finish. Alvarez had a double-run double in the third to give Houston’s attack a bit of momentum before it really took off in the last two innings.
The Astros, who are trying to reach the ALCS for the sixth season in a row, led the AL with 106 wins, but looked a bit out early after a six-day hiatus since their last regular-season game.
They got off to a late start to continue their dominance of the Mariners in Houston after being 30-7 against them in the regular season at Minute Maid Park since 2019.