Peña’s 18th-inning HR sends Astros past Mariners for sweep Harry had 255 yards in 1988.
Jeremy Peña and the Houston Astros just kept going. Scoreless inning after scoreless inning, as day turned into night in front of a frenzied crowd in Seattle.
They eventually found a way. That’s how the Astros reached the AL Championship Series for the sixth straight year. It’s just what they do.
Peña homered in the 18th inning, and the Astros beat the Mariners 1-0 on Saturday for a three-game sweep of their AL Division Series.
“These guys, they know not to panic,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “They don’t get too excited. They don’t get too down. It means a lot.”
Peña drove a slider from Penn Murfee deep to left-center for the rookie’s first playoff homer, providing 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 and the 6 hours, 22 minutes was the third-longest in time. Spoiling Seattle’s first home playoff appearance since 2001, Houston continued its ALCS streak that began with its 2017 World Series title. Next up is the New York Yankees or Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday.
LATE SATURDAY: Rookie Oscar Gonzalez hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning, rallying the Cleveland Guardians to a win over the New
York Yankees for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series. Gonzalez, a hero earlier in the postseason as well, lined a 1-2 pitch from Clarke Schmidt through the middle to score rookie Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario as the young Guardians, who have shown no fear during this storybook season, rallied once again and pushed the Yankees to the brink of elimination. Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer for New York, which took a 5-3 lead into the ninth before its bullpen flopped.
No. 20 Utah upends No. 7 USC
Cameron Rising threw for 415 yards, ran for three touchdowns and scampered up the middle for a go-ahead two-point conversion with 48 seconds left in No. 20 Utah’s 43-42 victory over No. 7 Southern California on Saturday night. Rising rushed a yard for a touchdown on fourth down to set up the deciding conversion.
Caleb Williams threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns for Southern California (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12). Utah (5-2, 3-1) held the Trojans on their last-ditch drive, handing them their first loss as a record crowd of 53,609 shook Rice-Eccles Stadium and then flooded the field. Dalton Kincaid had 15 catches for 217 yards, the most for a Ute since Carl
No. 4 CLEMSON 34, FLORIDA STATE 28:
DJ Uiagalelei threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns and No. 4 Clemson forced a momentum-turning takeaway to hold off Florida State. Clemson (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored on six straight drives and surpassed the 30-point mark for a seventh straight game to open the season. Will Shipley had 20 carries for 121 yards and six catches for 48 yards to help the Tigers to their seventh straight victory over the Seminoles. Lawrance Toafili ran for 68 yards for Florida State (4-3, 2-3). No. 22 KENTUCKY 27, No. 16 MISSISSIPPI STATE 17: Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed for 196 yards and two fourthquarter scores, Will Levis returned from a one-game injury absence to throw a go-ahead touchdown pass and No. 22 Kentucky topped No. 16 Mississippi State. The victory ended a two-game slide for the Wildcats. Rodriguez achieved season highs in yardage and carries (30) in his third game back from a suspension. His touchdowns covered 16 and 7 yards. The Wildcats sorely needed his second score, coming after Emmanuel Forbes returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown to get the Bulldogs within 20-17.