Astros sweep way to ALCS
Jeremy Peña homered in the 18th inning, and the Astros beat the Mariners 1-0 on Saturday to advance to the AL Championship Series for the sixth straight year.
Peña drove a slider from Penn Murfee deep to left-center for the rookie shortstop’s first playoff homer, proving the only run in an afternoon full of dominant pitching and empty trips to the plate. The 18 innings matched the longest game in playoff history.
Spoiling the Mariners’ first home playoff appearance since 2001, the Astros completed a three-game sweep of the ALDS.
While Yordan Alvarez got the big hits in the first two games in Houston, it was Peña that set the table for Alvarez’s opportunities. As Game 3 made its way into its sixth hour, Peña delivered another painful blow to the Mariners that ended their short return to the postseason.
After 21 years, Mariners fans welcomed playoff baseball back inside T-Mobile Park. They got their money’s worth, and then some.
Three previous playoff games reached the 18th inning before conclusion, one involving the Astros. The Astros beat the Braves 7-6 in 18 innings in Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS on Chris Burke’s game-ending homer.
Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS between the Giants and Nationals, and Game 3 of the 2018 World Series between the Angels and Red Sox also went 18 innings. But those games had runs. This one failed to produce anything until Peña’s swing on a 3-2 pitch.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance was Julio Rodríguez’s line drive that thudded off the wall in the eighth inning. The Mariners had runners in scoring position in the 13th and 17th, but couldn’t get a key two-out hit against the Astros’ superb bullpen.
Luis Garcia worked five innings for the win. The Astros bullpen allowed five hits and struck out 15 following six innings from starter Lance McCullers Jr.
Marsh Madness for Phillies:
Bryce Harper stood as still in the clubhouse as he does when he admires a home run and accepted the beer bath from bottles his Phillies teammates took delight in pouring on him.
Harper’s goggles provided no defense for the waterfall of booze streaming down his cheeks.
“It’s so cold! But it’s so good!” slugger Rhys Hoskins barked in Harper’s face.
Then it was time for the Phillies to sing: “I’m going going, back back, to Cali Cali!” they shouted in unison to the Notorious B.I.G. classic. That’s right, the next stop for the Fightins is a trip West to the NLCS, as a team that looked completely lost in May suddenly looks every bit like a World Series contender in October.
Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and J.T. Realmuto lined an insidethe-park home run that sent the Phillies bolting headfirst into the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 with an 8-3 win over the Braves in Game 4 Saturday.
Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an inside-the-parker in postseason history and Harper punctuated the romp with a clinching home run that helped the Phillies take the NL Division Series 3-1 against the World Series champion Braves.