SEATTLE — With each failed plate appearance and squandered scoring opportunity, particularly when only one run would’ve stopped the eventual marathon of pitches, outs and scoreless innings, the Mariners were allowing the potent bats of the Astros top hitters, held silent for longer than reasonably expected, opportunity after opportunity to crush their victory hopes and extinguish their World Series dreams.
The moment came more a little over six hours after the first pitch was thrown on Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.
Leading off the 18th inning — no, that’s not a typo, the 18th inning — Jeremy Pena, the Astros' talented rookie shortstop, smashed a 3-2 fastball from Mariners reliever Penn Murfee over the wall in deep left-center The ‘Pen area. The solo homer was the first run produced by either team in what had been a scoreless marathon.
