Oct 11, 2022 5 min read

Yordan Alvarez smashed a game-ending, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Robbie Ray, wrecking Seattle’s strategy of using a Cy Young Award winner in a rare relief role and vaulting the Houston Astros over the Mariners 8-7 Tuesday in their playoff opener.

Trailing all game after a poor start by Justin Verlander, the AL West champion Astros overtook rookie star Julio Rodríguez and the wild-card Mariners at the end to begin their best-of-five Division Series.

The Astros had been 0-48 in their postseason history when trailing by more than a run after eight innings until Alvarez homered deep into the seats to overcome a 7-5 decifit.

The no-doubt drive was the first walk-off homer in postseason history with a team trailing by multiple runs. And it was just the second walk-off homer with team down to its final out – the other was Kirk Gibson’s startling 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 as Seattle closer Paul Sewald grazed his jersey with a pitch. Sewald struck out Jose Altuve before Jeremy Peña laced a single to center field to chase Sewald.

Mariners manager Scott Servais then made the bold move to bring in Ray, who started Saturday at Toronto in the AL wild-card series, for a lefty vs. lefty matchup with Alvarez. Ray won the Cy Young last year with Toronto, had made only six relief appearances in his career and had never earned a pro save.

A percentage move – or was it?

Alvarez had a .998 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season, by far the highest among qualified left-handed hitters, and 10 home runs. And his batting average against lefties was .321, compared to .299 vs righties.

Alvarez, who hit 37 homers in the regular season, turned around Servais’ plan by launching Ray’s pitch into the seats in right field to set off a wild celebration with his parents in the stands.

The Mariners, back in the playoffs this year for the first time since 2001, were on the wrong end of a big comeback this time after rallying from a seven-run deficit in Game 2 to sweep their wild-card series with Toronto.

The Mariners jumped on Verlander for six runs in just four innings to build a 6-2 lead early. Yuli Gurriel hit a solo homer in the Houston fourth before Eugenio Suarez’s solo shot in the seventh extended Seattle’s lead to 7-3.

A two-run homer by Alex Bregman off Andrés Muñoz cut the lead to 7-5 in the eighth inning to set up the dramatic finish.

Maton out: Astros reliever Phil Maton revealed Tuesday that he broke his right pinkie when he punched a locker in frustration after Houston’s regular-season finale and will miss the postseason.

Maton had surgery Monday to repair the fractured finger on his pitching hand.

The Astros announced earlier Tuesday that Maton and another veteran reliever, Will Smith, had been left off the roster for the AL Division Series.

The 29-year-old Maton gave up two hits, including a single to younger brother Nick Maton, and two runs while recording one out in the eighth inning of Houston’s 3-2 win over Philadelphia last Wednesday.

“I was upset with how my outing went, and it’s kind of shortsighted and ultimately selfish and it’s one of those things that I hope doesn’t affect our team moving forward,” Maton said.

National League

Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 6: Nick Castellanos drove in three runs and made a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies over the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves 7-6 in the opener of their NL Division Series.

The Phillies have won three straight games to begin these playoffs, hardly looking like a team making its first postseason appearance since 2011. They followed up their wild-card sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a victory over the team that finished 14 games ahead of them in the NL East.

It wasn’t easy. Matt Olson hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Zach Eflin to bring the Braves within a run.

But Castellanos, capping off a brilliant day with his bat and his glove, made a sliding catch in right field for help snuff out the comeback – a clutch play from a player frequently maligned for subpar defense.

Alec Bohm added two RBIs for the Phillies, who built a 7-1 lead by the top of the fifth and made it stand up against a Braves lineup that squandered numerous chances to get back in the game.

Travis d’Arnaud homered and drove in the other three Atlanta runs, but the team that won 101 games during the regular season and edged the New York Mets in a thrilling NL East race suddenly finds itself in a best-of-five predicament.

Game 2 is Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta before the series shifts to Philly.