Astros 7, Mariners 0: Alvarez's 41st and a First-Place Tie

A meeting after a sweep, then a 41st homer in Seattle

September 22, 2026 - Seattle - Yordan Alvarez stood up after Atlanta swept Houston on Sunday and told the room there was no other option. On Tuesday he drove in three, hit his 41st, and put 102 RBI on the season. The Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 7-0 at T-Mobile Park.

Clear. 68 degrees. Wind 4 mph out to center. First pitch 6:40 p.m. Attendance 33,382. The game lasted 3 hours, 3 minutes. Houston had 12 hits. Seattle had four. Three Astros left with something hurting. The score still looked like a club that had decided the week.

"Like I said before, there's no other option," Alvarez said. "It's just going out and winning. Monday was a day that we were able to reset and just focus on the six games we have left and try to win those six games."

Houston is 78-79. The Rangers lost 6-3 to the Mets and sit at the same record. The Astros own the tiebreaker. Five games remain. If they finish even with Texas, they win the AL West.

Four singles, then Walker's 26th

Logan Gilbert (12-11) faced four singles to start the night. Jeremy Peña reached. Alvarez singled him home to right. 1-0, and 100 RBI for Alvarez. Gilbert lasted four innings: 10 hits, four earned, two walks, three strikeouts, 81 pitches. The third was the inning that ended the argument about whether Houston had actually shown up.

Jose Altuve singled. Yainer Diaz singled. Christian Walker hit his 26th, a line drive to left, Altuve and Diaz scoring. 4-0. "That's what we can control," Walker said of the five games left. "Let's go 5-0."

Isaac Paredes hit his 23rd to left in the sixth off José A. Ferrer. 5-0. Alvarez hit a two-run shot to right in the eighth, Peña scoring with him. 7-0. Walker, on Alvarez: "At this point, I keep wondering why guys are pitching to him. He seems to come through at each moment."

Alvarez finished 2-for-4 with a walk, a run, and three RBI. Walker went 1-for-5 with the three-run shot. Paredes went 2-for-4 with a walk and the homer. Altuve went 2-for-5 with a run. Diaz went 2-for-5. Peña went 1-for-4 with two runs, a steal, and an eighth-inning hit-by-pitch. Cam Smith doubled. Taylor Trammell walked twice. The 12 hits were spread. The three homers were not.

Javier's groin, then four relievers for seven zeros

Cristian Javier threw two scoreless: one hit, two walks, two strikeouts, 45 pitches. He felt his right groin tighten on one of his last pitches of the second. He believes he will make his next start. "I think it's a matter of giving it some treatment and trying to get it loose," he said.

Four relievers covered the rest. Miguel Ullola (1-0) threw two scoreless for the win: one hit, two strikeouts, 33 pitches. Bennett Sousa threw two: one hit, two walks, three strikeouts. Logan VanWey threw two: one hit, two strikeouts. AJ Blubaugh threw a scoreless seventh. Manager Joe Espada called it the club. "That's our club right there."

Seattle never scored. Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4. Cole Young singled, walked, and stole. Dominic Canzone singled. Cal Raleigh walked and went 0-for-3. Josh Naylor went 0-for-4. Randy Arozarena walked twice, stole, and did not get a hit. The Mariners left the traffic and never turned it into a run.

Three injuries on a night they could not afford them

Brice Matthews, back from a two-month left knee sprain, banged the same knee on a sliding catch in the second and came out in the sixth. Peña left after the forearm HBP. X-rays were negative. Starting center fielder Daulton Varsho was already unavailable with a left wrist injury. Espada said a taxi squad is working in Sugar Land if Houston needs a body for Wednesday.

"Obviously, nobody wants for those injuries to happen," Espada said. "Unfortunately, we lost three of those guys tonight, but hopefully they'll recover pretty quickly and be able to help us for the final few games."

On the at-bats: "I thought our approach, our at-bats from the get-go were really good. Getting the starter out of the game in the fourth inning, I thought that set the tone for us, along with early runs. Pitching did a nice job. A ton of quality at-bats."

Houston snapped a three-game losing streak. Seattle is 73-84. A 7-0 on the road in late September is a race game when the other first-place club is losing in Texas. Alvarez said there was no other option. The box score agreed.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Houston at 17 team fantasy points, tied for second on the slate. Alvarez had 10 hitting FP. Paredes had 8. Ullola had 9 pitching FP. Seattle finished at minus-8.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*