SEATTLE — Beautiful.
Perfect.
Instant.
And the moment that Jeremy Peña’s bat finally connected in the top of the 18th inning, all the numbing zeroes went away.
The first run — the only run — of Game 3 of the American League Division Series was the only run that mattered. And now the Astros are back in the AL Championship Series for the sixth consecutive season, creating history again.
Peña’s solo shot, smoked to left-center field, answered the endless question that built for more than six hours on Saturday inside a rocking, then silenced T-Mobile Park.
Who would suddenly become a hero in a historic Game 3 of this ALDS?
Who would ignite an instant celebration, either sending the Astros to another Championship Series or giving the Seattle Mariners another home playoff game after a 21-year wait?
Peña was the answer.
And it was 1-0 Astros in the end.
“It’s a beautiful thing, man,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker, after being drenched in the clubhouse by celebrating players.
Said Justin Verlander, who was preparing himself to potentially pitch in Game 4, “No better feeling in the world.”
Yordan Alvarez won Games 1 and 2 with huge, majestic homers. But even with a 2-0 series lead entering the Pacific Northwest, both initial contests had been tight and tense, and been decided by three total runs.
Seattle waited more than two decades to feel the local warmth of October. Then Seattle waited and waited for a single postseason run.
And then it was the 16th inning, Luis Garcia was still pitching for the road team, and the surreal waiting continued.
Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready started the day with a blistering national anthem.
As the 17th started, Nirvana was cranked on the stadium speakers: “Here we are now. Entertain us.”
If only someone would score a run.
Lance McCullers Jr. battled for six innings, turning sliders and off-speed creativity into impressive scoreless frames. George Kirby matched McCullers and it was still 0-0 when both bullpens took over.
Héctor Neris, Rafael Montero, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu Ryne Stanek and Hunter Brown kept Seattle scoreless for six more innings.
But the Astros also kept failing to finally break through. When Jose Altuve swung through another pitch, his 0-for-8 outing (and 0-for-16 ALDS) captured all the zeroes on both sides.
Would Altuve discover Game 3 redemption and become the one?
Alvarez?
Peña, who was 0-for-7 after 17 frames?
Seattle fans kept standing and screaming. Then sitting. Then standing again, waving towels, chanting the names of favorite Mariners players and cruelly reminding the Astros about their illegal 2017-18 ways. But reality also set in, as the crowd quieted down, a shadow covered the entire field and sunset approached in Washington.
Brown, a rookie and late-season call up, kept the Astros in it in the bottom of the 12th.
As the 13th inning began, a potential Game 4 was less than 19 hours away — if Game 3 ended Seattle’s way.
One run would ignite the Astros’ dugout and propel Houston’s MLB team to its sixth consecutive ALCS appearance.
One run began to feel like everything in Game 3, as reliever followed reliever, runners on first and second kept becoming untimely outs, and the rows of zeroes continued to stack up.
Someone would be a mid-October hero.
Right?
One club would prevail as Saturday afternoon became Saturday evening, either ending Seattle’s season or keeping the Mariners alive for one more day.
Right?
The 11th became the 12th. The 12th turned into the 13th. The 13th, like the first, was smoky and hazy, as Seattle looked more like San Francisco and a fiery smell filled the air.
Then the 13th became the 14th as two more big zeroes were officially applied to the scoreboard, no one crossed home plate and another inning was required for Game 3 of to be completed.
J.P. Crawford’s name echoed through the ballpark multiple times in different innings. It didn’t help the Mariners go up 1-0.
Altuve was booed and booed, while the Astros left 11 men on base and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The road team was also helpless for 17 innings when it came to a defining run and one of the oddest playoff games in franchise history refused to find an ending.
Julio Rodríguez had big moments and serious opportunities.
A run never arrived.
Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini and Christian Vázquez could have been the one for the Astros.
A single run remained elusive.
Game 3 stayed alive, blending innings, increasing tension and eventually inserting T-Mobile Park with a touch of Saturday evening delirium.
In the middle of the 14th, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” echoed through downtown Seattle.
How long was this going to go on?
Who was going to break through?
And, really: Could someone just blast a home run and start an impromptu celebration?
With two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Brown took Rodríguez to 3-2, then the Mariners’ future walked to first base.
Rodríguez stole second.
Seattle tried to believe.
Brown found a way through another scoreless inning, though, forcing someone else to be a hero as the ballpark began to glow.
The 15th quietly arrived and departed.
The Astros threatened in the 16th. But Rodríguez saved a run with a diving catch in center field and Game 3 kept making history, stretching time and adding another empty zero.
After 6 hours and 22 minutes, and 18 full innings, Peña became the one for the Astros.
They’re at their best in October.
They annually live in the ALCS.
They answer all the zeroes with another win, and another playoff hero on a beautiful, perfect night in Seattle.