ALDS GAME TWO REACTION
Yordan does it again, Astros beat the Mariners, 4-2
Oct 13, 2022, 6:01 pm
Astros lead the series, 2-0. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
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The Astros and Mariners sent two stud pitchers to the mound for Game 2 of the ALDS. Many expected this to be a game where runs would be tough to come by with Framber Valdez (2.82 ERA) and Luis Castillo (2.99 ERA) on the mound.
The Astros were the first team to get on the board with Kyle Tucker crushing a slider to right field for a solo home run in the bottom of the second. Astros up 1-0 after two innings.
LTG. pic.twitter.com/VRMgqVEas0
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 13, 2022
With two outs in the top of the third, J.P. Crawford ripped a double off the left field wall bringing up Cal Raleigh. Raleigh grounded up the middle and Jose Altuve made an incredible play throwing him out to end the inning. A great scoop by Yuli Gurriel should also be mentioned.
🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/VTVKNcEYIa
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 13, 2022
Framber Valdez got into some trouble in the top of the fourth inning, getting behind in the count repeatedly. With one out, Eugenio Suarez walked, Mitch Haniger doubled on a ground ball to left with Suarez getting to third. Carlos Santana reached on a fielder's choice with Framber airmailing a ground ball past Martin Maldonado tieing the game at one.
Santana was thrown out trying to get to second base. Dylan Moore then singled on a line drive to right, scoring Haniger. Cal Raleigh lined out to center, ending the inning. Mariners 2, Astros 1.
Jeremy Pena led off the bottom of the fourth roping a double to right center, bringing Yordan Alvarez to the plate with no outs. Yordan popped out to shallow left field, giving Alex Bregman a shot to tie the game. Bregman lined out to right making it two outs with Tucker up to bat. Tucker popped out to right, wasting a leadoff double from Jeremy Pena.
With two outs in the top of the sixth, Framber walked Mitch Haniger, Carlos Santana doubled, and Dylan Moore recorded a walk which would be the last batter Valdez would face in the game. Hector Neris would come in to pitch to Cal Raleigh. Neris got Raleigh to ground out to the right side of the infield keeping the score Mariners 2, Astros 1.
The Astros would ride the momentum of Neris getting out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth. After a Jose Altuve strikeout, Jeremy Pena hit a bloop single to center giving him his second hit of the game bringing up Yordan Alvarez. And you guessed it, Yordan blasted a two-run homer into the Crawford Boxes giving the Astros a 3-2 lead.
You cannot stop Yordan, you can only hope to contain him. pic.twitter.com/qpcrEUXGkB
— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2022
After the Astros bullpen held the Mariners scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, the Astros came to bat looking to add to their lead. With two outs in the inning, Jeremy Pena worked a walk bringing Yordan to the plate. Alvarez would be intentionally walked sending Alex Bregman into the batters box. Bregman quickly slapped a single to right field scoring Pena. Kyle Tucker would strike out, ending the inning. Astros 4, Mariners 2.
Ryan Pressly came in to pitch the ninth inning for Houston. After giving up a double to Julio Rodriguez, Pressly struck out Ty France to secure the win for Houston.
Astros 4, Mariners 2.
LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament.
J'Wan Roberts added 18 points and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left, giving the Cougars (32-4) their 15th consecutive win and pushing them into a regional semifinal against No. 4 seed Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.
Houston also ended Gonzaga's run of nine straight Sweet 16s, which had been the longest active streak in the nation.
“It's not just winning the game," Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. "It's beating a great program like Gonzaga.”
The Bulldogs (26-9) trailed 76-67 with just over 2 minutes to go when Graham Ike made two free throws to start their comeback bid, and most of it wound up coming at the foul line. And when Uzan turned the ball over and Khalif Battle made two free throws of his own, the Bulldogs had pulled to 77-76 with 21 seconds remaining.
Houston got the ball to Cryer, who was fouled, and he made both of his free throws to extend the lead. At the other end, Ja'Vier Francis stuffed Battle's tying 3-point try from the corner, and Uzan knocked down his foul shots to seal the win.
“Gonzaga is as good as anyone we've played all year,” Sampson said. “Had they been seeded somewhere else, that's a team that could have had a chance to get to the Elite Eight, or maybe the Final Four. They're that good.”
Ike finished with 27 points for the Bulldogs. Battle scored 17 and Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and 11 assists.
“It ended up being just a great, great basketball game, especially the way our guys fought their way back into it. I'm so proud of the way they hung with it,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Houston was everything and more than we thought it would be.”
Given that no program has won more games than Gonzaga and Houston over the past eight seasons, it seemed as if their second-round matchup in the Midwest Region would have been better suited for the second weekend.
Or even the Final Four, where the Bulldogs and Cougars were on opposite sides of the bracket in 2021.
Yet for much of the game, Houston looked every bit deserving of its No. 1 seed and Gonzaga its spot at No. 8. The Cougars asserted their physical dominance on the perennial West Coast power, while Cryer — the Big 12 player of the year — poured in 16 first-half points to give Houston a 35-27 lead at the break.
Roberts, who sprained his ankle in last week's conference tournament, took over in the second half. The winningest player in Cougars history began bullying his way for baskets, and that allowed the Cougars to maintain their lead.
Gonzaga made one final run down the stretch but could never overtake them.
Takeaways
Gonzaga was second nationally in scoring at 86.7 points per game, and surpassed that in an 89-68 rout of Georgia in the first round. But the Bulldogs finished short of that mark against Houston's trademark defense.
Houston was able to rest its stars during a lopsided win over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday. Those fresh legs seemed to pay off in the closing minutes Saturday, when Gonzaga was trying to climb back into the game.
Up next
The Cougars will play the Boilermakers for a spot in the Elite Eight.