There’s nothing sweeter than a wild walk-off win over a rival. On Friday, the Houston Astros held off the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings and then powered to a 10-7 victory — thanks to a three-run walk-off home run from first baseman Christian Walker.
A hot start gave the Astros a 5-2 lead after the second inning, before the Mariners started to chip away. Seattle scored two runs in the eighth to tie things up, eventually sending the game to an extra inning.
In the top of the 10th, a Victor Robles RBI triple and a Brock Rodden sacrifice fly gave the Mariners a lead to hold onto. But Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz’s struggles continued as he allowed RBI singles from Isaac Paredes and Daulton Varsho to tie the game at 7-7 — the latter of which came despite Muñoz holding two outs.
And then it all came down to Walker with the walk-off, as the first baseman went yard to give Houston a massive win.
It’s a pretty tough blow to the Mariners, who desperately needed to hold on for a win as the vibes continue to tank. A year that held a surprising amount of promise for a franchise with a bleak history has instead left Seattle fans without a lot of hope as the season winds down.
What’s bad for Seattle, though, is great for Houston. The 63-60 Astros are slowly but surely growing their lead in the razor-thin AL West, with the second-place Texas Rangers currently three games back and the third-place Mariners now six games back.
Houston already swept the Rangers at home earlier this month, and would love to do the same to Seattle in order to grip that first-place position a little tighter. After that, a chance to grow that record will come in the form of back-to-back home series against the division’s sadder relatives, the Los Angeles Angels and Athletics, in that order.
The Astros, who had an eight-year streak of making the playoffs from 2017 to 2024, missed out on the postseason last year after a late push from the Mariners to clinch their first AL West title since 2001.
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