The Houston Astros swept the Seattle Mariners in their best-of-five American League Division Series on Saturday.
Yet, the finish line was far from easy.
While it only takes three wins to complete a sweep in the ALDS round of postseason play, the Astros and Mariners played an extra game worth of innings at T-Mobile Park -- the first playoff game to take place in front of Seattle fans in over two decades.
The Mariners had dropped back-to-back games after holding the lead in each contest against the AL West division rival Astros. In both losses for the Mariners, it was Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez who was responsible for Houston's quick 2-0 series lead.
However, it wasn't Álvarez who sent the Mariners packing this time.
The six-hour and 22-minute thriller finally reached its end when in the top of the 18th inning, Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña blasted a solo home run off Mariners pitcher Penn Murfee -- closing the door on Seattle for good. The 25-year-old rookie infielder finished 1-for-8 at the plate, but delivered the biggest at-bat of his young major league career.
Both skippers, Dusty Baker (Astros) and Scott Servais (Mariners), combined to use 18 total pitchers
The Game 3 battle was the first game in postseason history to be scoreless through 15-plus innings, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
With the low-scoring victory, the Astros punched their ticket to the best-of-seven American League Championship Series where they will await the winner of the New York Yankees-Cleveland Guardians series.
