2022 MLB Playoffs: Yordan Alvarez, Astros beat Mariners, lead ALDS 2-0

By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer

"You know you got a chance when Yordan comes to the plate."

That's what Astros manager Dusty Baker said following Houston's heroic Game 1 victory, courtesy of Yordan Alvarez's epic, walk-off blast to the second deck off Robbie Ray. 

"When he doesn't come through, you're almost surprised," Baker continued. "You know nobody can do it all the time, but he's pretty good at it."

Fast-forward 48 hours, and the Astros were once again down against the Mariners — this time 2-1 in the sixth inning. But Alvarez came to the plate, so they had a chance. 

On the other side, Mariners manager Scott Servais was asked on the off-day how Alvarez's historic Game 1 performance would impact the way Seattle pitches to him moving forward. Beyond trying to explain his rationale for going to Ray in that spot, Servais went out of his way to mention Alvarez's hit in the eighth inning of Game 1 that preceded Alex Bregman's two-run homer to cut Seattle's lead to two.

"Andrés Muñoz, in my opinion, may have the best slider in the game," he said. "[Alvarez] took a 94 mph slider and hit it 114 mph off the fence. We didn't make a bad pitch. We threw our best pitcher, threw his best pitch to their best hitter. He got it. If the same thing happens [in Game 2], we might win it."

It was a fair point. Sometimes you just get beaten by a good hitter, but it won't always go down that way. Yet when Mariners ace Luis Castillo, amidst another dynamite start, threw Alvarez his best pitch — a 98 mph sinker off the edge of the plate in the sixth inning — Alvarez still managed to get it. Again. 

Houston won the game 4-2. Alvarez's postseason legend continues to grow, and the mighty Astros are now one win away from their sixth consecutive trip to the ALCS.

What went right for Houston

Starter Framber Valdez was solid outside of a messy fourth inning in which his command escaped him, but Game 2 was really about the star power of Houston's lineup, even beyond Alvarez. Kyle Tucker got the scoring started with an absolute moonshot — 43-degree launch angle! — to right field off Castillo.

Later in the ninth, after Alvarez had already given the Astros the lead, a Jeremy Pena two-out walk against Muñoz brought the fearsome slugger to the plate again with a chance to do more damage. Instead, Servais opted to walk Alvarez intentionally and push Pena into scoring position. Only one problem: Bregman, who took Muñoz deep in Game 1, was on deck. Muñoz dotted a 101 mph heater on the outer half, but it didn't matter — Bregman lined it the other way to score Pena as an insurance run.

It's difficult to fault Servais for avoiding Alvarez entirely, but when one of the other best players in the league is batting behind him, there are no easy answers.

And though Jose Altuve was 0-for-4 (and is now 0-for-8 in the series), he completed two excellent plays on balls hit up the middle, one on Ty France in the fourth and another to nab the speedy Julio Rodriguez in the third.

What went wrong for Seattle

Castillo was merely great and not completely perfect, which was not good enough against a lineup of the Astros' caliber. That said, it would be awfully cruel to pin this L on Castillo, no matter what the box score says. If that does turn out to be Castillo's final outing of 2022, Mariners fans have to feel ecstatic knowing he's going to be around for the long haul. 

The bigger issue in Game 2 was the Seattle offense not really showing up for the first time this postseason, notching only two runs on five hits. Granted, they had some scoring opportunities that came up just short, including some particularly painful moments late in the game as they tried to mount a comeback. Representing the go-ahead run in the eighth, pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic ripped one to deep right field that died just before the fence. Then in the ninth, leadoff hitter Adam Frazier reached via walk but was quickly erased when JP Crawford lined one to Yuli Gurriel, who calmly stepped on first base for the double-play. That rendered the scorching double to left field off the bat of Rodriguez in the following at-bat fairly harmless. 

Still, the Mariners' offensive output on the whole was not nearly sufficient to take down a team like Houston. Most notably, their pair of All-Stars — Rodriguez and France — who combined for five hits and four RBIs in Game 1, went 1-for-9 in Game 2. The top of the order will need to get going upon returning home if the Mariners are to have any chance of making this a competitive series.

Key moment of the game

Just as in Game 1, it was the at-bat before Alvarez's blast that deserves additional credit. With two outs and no one on, Castillo delivered a 98 mph heater inside to Astros shortstop Pena, who fought it off for a bloop single to center field. In a cruel twist of fate, Seattle fell victim to a nearly identical batted ball to the one Crawford hit in Game 2 against Toronto, which fell between Bo Bichette and George Springer and allowed three runs to score, tying the game in the eighth.  

Pena's single: 71.3 mph exit velocity, 40-degree launch angle, 239 feet

Crawford's double: 70.4 mph exit velocity, 38-degree launch angle, 234 feet

This one thankfully did not include a nasty collision, but it did afford Alvarez the opportunity to come to the plate and be the hero once again. 

What happens next

This series moves to Seattle, where fans have been eagerly awaiting postseason baseball at home for more than two decades. The Mariners' prospects in this series might not look great down 0-2, but Seattle fans will surely still be grateful to have at least one home playoff game — something that wasn't guaranteed when the postseason began. 

They'll hand the ball to talented 24-year-old right-hander George Kirby, who will join Braves sensational righty Spencer Strider as the only rookies slated to start a postseason game this October. He'll go against seasoned postseason veteran Lance McCullers Jr., who posted a 2.27 ERA in eight starts this season upon returning in August from a forearm strain that kept him out the first four months. None of those eight starts came against Seattle, however, so it will be a relatively fresh look for the Mariners hitters with their season on the line. 

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.