Game 2 ALDS Game Thread: Astros v. Mariners

The Astros and Mariners ALDS series was already a decently hyped series. The Mariners, exhibiting shades of the 1995 crew that saved baseball in Seattle, headed into Houston after a thrilling comeback to seal a two-game sweep of the favored Blue Jays. They were set to face a heavily favored 106-win Astros team, carrying the best record in the American League, not all too different from the 100-win Cleveland team the 1995 squad faced in the ALCS.

This match up is the Davidic team of destiny looking to strike down Goliath. And to the glee of fans everywhere, you could say that game 1 delivered on that hype.

Down to their last strike and trailing by two runs, Yordan Alvarez’s walk-off three-run homer gave the Astros a 1-0 series lead. It might also have been the most consequential play in baseball history.

To recap, Alvarez’s home run represented:

• The first come-from-behind walk-off homer in Astros postseason history
• The most Win Probability Added (WPA) of any play in playoff history at 91.3%
• The climactic end to the most valuable postseason game ever, with a +105.2% WPA. Not only did he own the highest WPA play of the game by a wide margin, but his third-inning RBI double was the second-most impactful play of the day.

It was quite the game. Now we get another. Seattle sends 99 MPH bowling ball thrower Luis Castillo to the mound needing another strong performance after his brilliant Wild Card start that saw him pitch scoreless ball into the 8th inning. Frambler Valdez is on the other side, making his first postseason start of 2022. Here are your lineups:

Unfortunately, this is the only baseball game of the day, with the Yankees v. Guardians game being postponed due to inclement weather.

Happy playoff baseball!