Yordan Álvarez had a cold-blooded reaction to his walk-off 3-run shot that sent Astros fans into a frenzy

One of the biggest reasons the Astros seemingly make deep runs every October is that they have players who don’t shy away from the moment. When it’s time for a big hit or catch, someone usually comes through and plays hero for Houston. This was precisely the scenario for Yordan Álvarez against the Mariners (-1.5) on Tuesday.

With the Astros down 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, they needed someone to finish the job on their last out against Robbie Ray. Given the ensuing result for Álvarez, it’s almost as if they couldn’t have picked a better person to get that coveted (eventual) 8-7 final score.

And when you see Álvarez’s initial reaction to a three-run, walk-off shot to win Game 1 — compared to an absolutely raucous Astros crowd anyway — it’s certainly a man who has been there and done that:

Oh my. What a blast to right field, and what a shot of an entire stadium going crazy while Álvarez simply stares his home run down and calmly trots around the bases.

Let’s see another angle of that crowd for electric posterity:

Álvarez’s shot made some history, too. It’s not only just the second walk-off homer for a team down to its final out in playoff baseball history, it’s also the first for a squad down multiple runs:

Kirk Gibson is quite the company to share. Not to be overlooked: The homer capped a stellar three-hit, five-RBI performance for Álvarez.

If this is how the Astros will play all postseason — getting timely plays whenever they need them — then they might be an even tougher out than anyone thought.

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