Jeremy Pena’s 18th-inning home run helped the Houston Astros take down Seattle Mariners in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, which was the first postseason hosting for Astro in the series.
Rookie Jeremy Pena’s solo home run off Mariners reliever Penn Murfee provided the lone tally in Houston’s 1-0 victory that clinched a spot in the AL Championship Series for the sixth consecutive season. Never before had a postseason game gone scoreless for as long as Game 3.
Its 18 innings tied a postseason record with three other games, and its 6-hour, 22-minute run time was the third-longest ever. The 42 strikeouts recorded by both teams set a record.
While Houston took all three games in the best-of-5 series, comeback victories in Games 1 and 2 showed that the Mariners were no fluke.
They were simply not good enough to overcome Houston’s deep pitching staff and dangerous lineup.
In the game’s first half, the story centered around a pair of great starting pitching performances, by Seattle rookie George Kirby and Houston right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., who was battling an illness.
Kirby threw seven brilliant shutout innings; McCullers nearly matched him with six
Seven Seattle relievers put up scoreless outings. Houston matched that number, led by Luis Garcia, the right-handed started who ended with five shutout innings, allowed two hits and no walks, struck out six, and locked down the 18th to earn the victory.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said:
“We kept putting the zero up there and they kept putting the zero up there and you think we’re going to be able to break through because we have so many times.”
“It’s kind of what we’re accustomed to, playing those tight games and finding a way. … I mean, that is a big league game, with the pitching and defense that was fired out there. We just weren’t able to put anything together.”
Houston’s offense, the best in the AL this season, managed just 11 hits in 63 at-bats. Seattle’s offense, which lived by the home run this season, was 7-for-60.
