Alvarez 3-run HR caps Astros comeback, 8-7 win over Mariners

HOUSTON (AP) – Yordan Alvarez hit a game-ending, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Robbie Ray, wrecking Seattle’s strategy of using a Cy Young Award winner in a rare relief role and vaulting the Houston Astros over the Mariners 8-7 Tuesday in their playoff opener. Trailing all game after a poor start by Justin Verlander, the AL West champion Astros overtook rookie star Julio Rodríguez and the wild-card Mariners at the end to begin their best-of-five Division Series. Houston was down 7-5 when rookie pinch-hitter David Hensley reached with one out in the ninth as Seattle closer Paul Sewald grazed his jersey with a pitch. Sewald struck out Jose Altuve before Jeremy Peña laced a single to center field to chase Sewald. Ray, who had made only six relief appearances in his career, entered for a lefty versus lefty matchup with Alvarez, who sent the second pitch he faced deep into the seats in right field to set off a wild celebration. The Mariners jumped on Verlander for six runs in just four innings to build a 6-2 lead early. Yuli Gurriel hit a solo homer in the Houston fourth before Eugenio Suarez’s solo shot in the seventh extended Seattle’s lead to 7-3. A two-run homer by Alex Bregman off Andrés Muñoz cut the lead to 7-5 in the eighth inning to set up the dramatic finish. PHILLIES 7, BRAVES 6 ATLANTA (AP) – Nick Castellanos drove in three runs and made a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning, lifting Philadelphia over reigning World Series champion Atlanta in the opener of their NL Division Series. Game 2 is Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta before the series shifts to Philly. The Phillies have won three straight games to begin these playoffs, following up their wild-card sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a victory over the team that finished 14 games ahead of them in the NL East. Matt Olson hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Zach Eflin to bring the Braves within a run. Castellanos capped off a brilliant day with his bat and his glove, making a sliding catch in right field for help snuff out the comeback. Alec Bohm added two RBIs for the Phillies, who built a 7-1 lead by the top of the fifth. Travis d’Arnaud homered and drove in the other three Atlanta runs. Max Fried failed to get through the fourth inning and was roughed up for eight hits and six runs – two of them unearned. Seranthony Dominguez struck out three in two innings of relief for the win. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports