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:
WHO IS YORDADDY? pic.twitter.com/7VlgMwNFy6
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 11, 2022
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:
#Postseason baseball has been and always will be the best. pic.twitter.com/mR6YlRlkyu
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2022
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:
walk-off HR when trailing, postseason history:
Today Yordan Alvarez
1993 WS G6 Joe Carter
1988 WS G1 Kirk Gibson
1986 NLCS G3 Lenny Dykstra– only Alvarez's & Gibson's were down to final out
– ONLY Alvarez's was when trailing by MULTIPLE RUNS https://t.co/i0ree09q78
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 11, 2022
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.
MLB fans were positively stunned by Álvarez's clutch game-winning blast for the Astros
Why would they pitch to this man? Let’s go Astros! https://t.co/R1mUquKsn3
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) October 11, 2022
I don’t even what to say https://t.co/xIh6k43Zk4
— Forrest Reeves (@TheLilFo) October 11, 2022
Omg that was a nuke https://t.co/p64LcDDzct
— Vinnyboss2 (@mets_patriot) October 11, 2022
Inject this into my veins 💉 https://t.co/JKUXAfBAii
— Chef 🌵 (@ChefJ22) October 11, 2022
Never gets old .. watching 100 times more #levelup https://t.co/tytUZjQ0AE
— Patricia Lopez (@PatriciaOnTV) October 12, 2022
NO. WAY. https://t.co/lyKzXbctiw
— Amanda Henderson (@AmandaHTV) October 11, 2022
Feeling very romantic about baseball atm https://t.co/AyzPLJoeCe
— Jose Partida (@WakeUpMrPartida) October 11, 2022
October baseball will always be the best! https://t.co/l6nLmyfe1z
— Robert Ray (@RobertRayMusic) October 11, 2022
