USATSI_18797673 — Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Álvarez Walks Off Seattle Mariners for Houston Astros' Series Win

Behind a quality start from Jake Odorizzi, Yordan Álvarez notches second walk off of the season in win over the Seattle Mariners.

Author:
Kenny Van Doren
Publish date:
Jul 31, 2022 5:42 PM EDT

In this story:

Houston Astros

Yordan Álvarez entered the box with a base open in the bottom of the 10th inning in a tied contest. The Seattle Mariners—who deployed Brennan Bernardino in his major league debut—pitched to the best hitter in Major League Baseball, and it didn't end in their favor.

Álvarez slapped a single to right field to drive home Mauricio Dubón home from third base. As the extra-inning runner, Dubón advanced on a Yuli Gurriel lineout in the prior at-bat. The Houston Astros picked up their sixth win over the Mariners since the All-Star break.

Off the rubber, Jake Odorizzi pitched his best performance of the season Sunday in what may strengthen trust in the rotation or attract trade proposals from other contending organizations.

The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly expressed interest in Odorizzi with the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaching, but for the Astros' right-hander, he left Sunday with his fourth quality start in 2022.

Odorizzi retired the first nine batters he faced before yielding a single to Adam Frazier in the fourth inning. Frazier slapped two singles off the righty—the only hits recorded off Odorizzi.

With one walk behind him, the Astros' starter struck out eight batters through his seven frames on 94 pitches before handing the reins to Ryne Stanek for the eighth inning.

Stanek retired consecutive batters before a five-pitch walk to Frazier. Following a mound visit, Jesse Winker belted the next pitch for a two-run, game-tying home run. With a tied contest in the ninth and the 10th, Ryan Pressly and Héctor Neris both worked scoreless frames.

Houston Astros First Baseman Yuli Gurriel
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The offense attacked early. José Altuve took a first-pitch, 95 mph fastball to his shoulder which brewed jeers from the crowd and displeasure from Houston's dugout. George Kirby then lost a curveball high to Yuli Gurriel as the first baseman dodged back-to-back hit batters.

With Altuve on the move, Gurriel slapped a single two pitches later, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Altuve stole home following Gurriel's seventh stolen base of the season to put the Astros up one run.

Gurriel ranks second among Cuban-born players age 38 or older in stolen bases—Bert Campaneris stole 10 bags in 1980. The two-hole hitter scored on a two-out single from Kyle Tucker later in the inning. After stranding the bases loaded to close the frame, Houston's offense reached base fourfold in the remainder of the contest before the 10th inning.

The Astros secured a series win Sunday in their final meeting with the Mariners during the regular season. Houston opens a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox at 7:10 p.m. Monday at Minute Maid Park with Luis García and Nathan Eovaldi taking the mound.