Mariners Walk Off Astros 6-5 in 10th Inning, Stay Alive in Wild Card Race

Naylor's Single Ends It

Seattle trailed 5-4 heading into the bottom of the tenth after Houston's automatic runner, Yordan Alvarez, scored on an Isaac Paredes triple to right field. The Mariners answered right back. With one out and the bases loaded, Julio Rodríguez worked a full count walk off Astros closer Josh Hader, forcing in J.P. Crawford to tie the game. Josh Naylor then lined Hader's next pitch to right-center, scoring Randy Arozarena for the walk-off. It was Arozarena's third run of the night. The finish came at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Cooper Criswell picked up the win pitching the tenth, moving to 4-2. Hader took the loss, falling to 4-2 as well.

Seattle Clawed Back All Night

Houston jumped out front early with a four-run third inning, capped by Yainer Diaz's two-run homer, his 14th of the season. Seattle answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the third to cut it to 4-3. The first two runs came on a Dominic Canzone double that stretched his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. Canzone drove in another run with a fifth-inning single that scored Arozarena and tied the game at 4. Julio Rodríguez had three hits before his game-tying walk in the tenth. For Houston, Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Nick Allen each had two hits on the night.

Alvarez Still Chasing the Triple Crown

Yordan Alvarez went 2 for 4 without an RBI, which still pushed his league-leading batting average up to .316. Tampa Bay's Chandler Simpson sits second at .309 and did not play Wednesday against the Yankees. Alvarez is also part of a four-way tie for the home run lead at 41, alongside Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero, Baltimore's Pete Alonso and New York's Ben Rice. In RBI, Alvarez sits second in the league with 102, eight behind Alonso. The numbers keep him squarely in the American League Triple Crown conversation with the season winding down.

Standings and What's Next

Houston, now 78-80, stays tied atop the AL West with Texas, which has dropped three straight games. The Astros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if the two clubs finish with the same record. Seattle improved to 74-84 but remains four games back with four to play. The Mariners send Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.92 ERA) to the mound Thursday to open a season-ending four-game series against the Angels. The Astros open a four-game set at the Athletics with Peter Lambert (8-10, 3.70) on the mound. On the injury front, Seattle has Andres Munoz day-to-day with a knee issue, Brendan Donovan on the 7-day IL with a concussion, and Brennen Davis on the 60-day IL with a hamstring injury. Houston has Daulton Varsho and Jeremy Pena both day-to-day with wrist injuries, and Mike Burrows on the 60-day IL with an elbow injury.

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.