The Houston Astros will return to the ALCS. The Astros beat the Seattle Mariners Saturday night to complete a three-game ALDS sweep (HOU 1, SEA 0 in 18 innings). The game went scoreless until Jeremy Peña hit a series-winning single homer in the 18th inning.
At 18 innings, Game 3 is tied for the longest playoff game in history and the first with at least 15 scoreless innings. Houston advanced to the ALCS for the sixth time in a row, and the Mariners will go home in the offseason.
Here are five takeaways from the third game.
1. King Felix throws ceremonial first ball
Saturday was Seattle’s first playoff game since 2001, and there was no Mariners legend better than the team’s greatest pitcher, Felix Hernandez, in the first pitching ceremony. Here’s King Felix’s first tune:
“Go home feeling good,” Hernandez told Seattle Times About dropping the first ball, adding that he told the Mariners not to commit until they secured a playoff spot. Can’t go to something like Venus. In related King Félix news, there was a rare good tweet from the third game:
Still only 36, Hernandez played 13 seasons for the Mariners from 2005-19, made six All-Star appearances and won the 2010 AL Cy Young Award. He’s the team leader for all important pitching stats, including wins, ERA, innings, strikeouts, WAR, and more. Your name, led by King Felix.
2. Kirby threw the game of his life
Back in 2017, Alex Speier Boston Globe Research was conducted and found that nearly every team that was down 2-0 in a best-of-five-inning series did so thanks to a good pitching performance in Game 3. Although the offense couldn’t pick him up.
Bryant kept the Astros out in seven innings, including a vote of confidence from captain Scott Serves, when he went two-for-two with Bryant in the seventh inning of a scoreless game. Against Jose Artuf, pit his youngsters against one of the top hitters in baseball for the fourth time, with his team’s season just around the corner. Kirby fanned the Altuve up and out of the area with a fastball.
Kirby, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2019 draft, has a 3.02 ERA in 13 starts after being recalled from Triple-A in June, and he also stopped Seattle’s No. 2 spot in the wild-card series win the game. The youngster started the season in Double-A. Saturday isn’t just Seattle’s biggest game of 2022. It was their most important game since 2001, and Kirby finished.
Unfortunately for Kirby and the Mariners, Lance McCullers Jr. was just as good, hitting seven in six innings. He only allowed two hits. The game was scoreless until the 18th inning, when…
3. Peña is a big success
Rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña hit 12 home runs in 163 career games at the University of Rhode Island and was tasked with replacing Carlos Correa this season, eventually breaking through and making the cut with rookie right wing Payne. · Murphy hit a home run in the series. Murfee’s slider slides back onto the plate:
By then, the two teams were 16-115 (.139) with 41 strikeouts. These included Jose Altuve 8-0, Yordan Alvarez 7-0 and Cal Raleigh 7-0. In his career, the regular season or the playoffs, Altuve has never been worse 0-for-6 in a game. Kirby and McCullers are excellent. The same goes for the bullpen:
|
Astros Bullpen |
12 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
15 |
0 |
7 |
|
sailor cowshed |
11 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
9 |
Both teams were 0-19 in scoring position (11-0 for the Astros, 8-0 for the Mariners) because the bullpen was so bad. In an 18-inning game, a total of 19 times with runners on the field tells you everything you need to know. Opportunities to score are few and far between. It will take a home run to win Game 3.
4. Rodriguez briefly saved Seattle’s season
Tribute to Julio Rodriguez. In the 16th inning, the Mariners prodigy temporarily saved the team’s season when Yuli Gurriel slid the ball into right midfield and Rodríguez knocked it down. check it out:
According to Statcast, taking into account exit velocity and trajectory, the ball has a 10 percent chance of being caught. Rodriguez flew in the finals of the game and the season in Seattle, but I’m not sure what else he can do for his team this season. He’s incredible on both ends of the floor. The Mariners have a real superstar to surround themselves with.
5. Tied for longest game in history
As mentioned, this is tied for the longest postseason in baseball history. It was also the first playoff game with at least 15 scoreless innings. Here are the longest playoffs ever:
- ALDS 2022, Game 3: Astros 1, Sailors 18 innings
- 2018 World Series, Game 3: Dodgers 3, Red Sox 2, 18 innings
- 2014 NLDS, Game 2: Giants 2, Nationals 18 innings 1
- 2005 NLDS, Game 4: Astros 7, Warriors 18 innings 6
- 1986 NLCS, Game 6: 16 innings Mets 7, Astros 6
Eight days ago, the Guardians and Rays were scoreless in 14 innings in what, at the time, was the longest scoreless game in postseason history. As a result, in MLB’s first 121 seasons, the two teams never lost in 14 playoff innings. Happened twice this month now. to find out.
Next
The Mariners are going home, the Astros are going back to the ALCS. It was their sixth straight championship series and the second-longest streak in baseball history, trailing only the 1991-88 Warriors (eight years, not including the 1994 strike season). Houston will face the Guardians vs. Houston’s winner. Yankees ALDS. The series could end as early as Saturday.