The Houston Astros advanced to the American League Championship Series for the sixth year in a row with a win over the SeattleMariners on Saturday.
The only run in an afternoon full of dominant pitching and empty trips to the plate came on a solo home run by Carlos Pena in the seventh. It was the longest game in the playoffs.
It was the fourth home run in the last 18 minutes of the game.
Houston completed a three-game sweep of the ALCS. Game 1 of the ALCS will take place on Wednesday.
During the sixth hour of Game 3, Pena delivered another blow to the Seattle team that ended their brief return to the playoffs.
Seattle fans returned to T-Mobile Park for the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. They got some of their money.
It was the first time in MLB history that a team lost in 18 and lost on a walk-off home run in the same playoffs.
There were three previous playoff games that ended before the end. Chris Burke hit a game-ending home run in the 18th to give the Astros a win over the Braves.
Game 2 of the NLDS between San Francisco and Washington and Game 3 of the World Series between Los Angeles and Boston were both 18-inning games.
| Year, Rd. | Teams | Inns. |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 WS | Red Sox-Dodgers | 18 |
| 2014 NLDS | Giants-Nationals | 18 |
| 2005 NLDS | Braves-Astros | 18 |
| 2022 ALDS | Astros-Mariners | 18* |
| 1986 NLCS | Mets-Astros | 16 |
| * First to be scoreless through 17 inns. |
The games had spurts.
The best chance for Seattle to score was Rodriguez's line drive that missed the wall. Seattle had runners in scoring position in the 13th and 17th but couldn't get a big hit.
There is no automatic runner when the playoffs go to extra frames.
The five-innings win was done by LuisGarcia. The Astros had five hits and 15 strikeouts from the relief team.
The Seattle'sReliever had 20 strikeouts. After George Kirby gave up five hits, the rest of the team gave up five hits as well. The Astros stars were a combined 0-for-15 in the game with Altuve going 0-for-16.
There were 18 pitchers who threw 498 pitches in the game.
| Year, Rd. | Matchup | Ks |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 ALDS | Astros at Mariners | 42<< |
| 2022 ALWC | Rays at Guardians | 39 |
| 2020 NLWC | Reds at Braves | 37 |
| >> 18 innings |
The teams combined to strike out 42 times, topping the record of 39 set last week in the wild-card game of the American League.
The only players to go 0 for 8 or worse in a World Series game was Jose Altuve in the third game. Houston's other players came through, none bigger than the young shortstop who took on a prominent role after Carlos Correa left.
His only hit was a home run. Houston traveled to Seattle with a 2-0 lead in the series thanks to his contributions.
The 6 hours and 22 minutes it took for the drama to play out was nerve-racking for the fans.
The entrance was filled with lines hours before the game. Half of the stadium was filled 90 minutes before the game, and all seats were sold out by the time FelixHernandez threw out the first pitch.
The energy and noise that accompanied two decades of anticipation was pure joy at the beginning, but turned more and more nervous as the game wore on. The fans were close to exhaustion by the time the 14th-inning stretch was over.
After two decades of waiting, it wasn't until four in the afternoon that it came.
The AP contributed to the report.
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