Astros’ improbable Game 1 victory, as seen on social media
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Baseball fans outside of Houston had plenty to chirp about as the Astros struggled to keep up with the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
Thanks to a walk-off, three-run moon shot by Yordan Álvarez, however, it was the Astros faithful who got the last laugh on Tuesday.
Before we get to that, let’s take another look at the home run that lifted Houston to an 8-7 victory. And a bat flip that will instantly go down in Astros lore.
As alluded to above, it didn’t look good for the Astros in the early going. The Mariners jumped ahead 4-0 after two innings, and went ahead on to tag Houston ace Justin Verlander for six earned runs in four innings.
Seattle fans and Houston haters were feeling themselves at this point in time. Some Astros fans weren’t too confident in the outlook, either.
Eventually, the situation started to turn in Houston’s favor, as Seattle scored only one run after going up 6-2 in the top of the fourth. Yuli Gurriel, who went 3 for 4 on the day, got the Astros fans back into it in the bottom half of that inning with a solo shot to left.
The Astros still trailed 7-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth, but Alex Bregman managed to cut into the deficit with a two-run blast. If you thought this had Mariners supporters feeling nervous, just wait until the ninth inning.
Rookies David Hensley and Jeremy Peña both reached base, Hensley on a hit by pitch and Peña on a two-out single. With Álvarez coming to the plate, Seattle manager Scott Servais went to Robbie Ray — a starting pitcher who had given up nine earned runs in his previous 8 2/3 innings—to close out the game.
We all know what happened next.
To close things out, here’s perspective from someone who has a unique relationship with Astros fans. This one will hit different for those who followed the team in the 2005 NLCS.