Christian Walker Walks Off the Mariners. Astros 5-3

Two-run homer to left. Is this the shot heard round the Astros world?

Astros fans have first baseman PTSD. Having endured the last futile years of Yuri Gurriel, then two years of Jose Abreu and/or Jon Singleton, patience for the newest first bagger, Christian Walker, was very short. And with his Mendoza line BA and .600ish OPS, the natives were getting restless. Some had the pots already boiling.

Is Walker’s dramatic ninth-inning, walk-off homer the beginning of the positive regression the optimists among us have been expecting? Is THE Homer the confidence booster Walker needs to fulfill his ample potential as a cleanup batter.

If Walker gets hot, along with Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve, and with Yordan Alvarez soon to return to the lineup, is the whole Astros lineup ready for takeoff at long last?

It didn’t look good to start the game.

The Mariners scored first on Astros starter Colton Gordon in the first inning on a two-run Mitch Garver double after Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena singled, all with two outs. They added a run in the third after a Rodriguez single, two wild pitches and a Donovan Solano single.

But the Astros got close in their half of the third on three straight singles by Parades, Altuve, and Walker, scoring a run, and a sac fly by Victor Caratini.

The Astros’ fill-in starter, Gordon, was shaky but kept the game close, allowing three runs in five innings on seven hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. He threw 63 strikes out of 84 total pitches. It’s nice to win games when the AAA cavalry is called into service.

In the sixth inning, the Astros got Gordon off the hook, tying the score at 3-3 on a Cam Smith double plating Jake Meyers with two outs. It would be Seattle’s starter, Luis Castillo, last inning.

In the seventh inning, the Mariners got runners on second and third with two outs against Astros reliever Shawn Dubin, but Caleb Ort came in to extinguish the fire, striking out Arozarena.

Likewise, the Astros blew their chance in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with a Paredes double, a Jose Altuve walk, and a Walker infield single. However, Victor Caratini hit into a double play to end the threat without a run.

In the eighth inning, the Mariners put runners on first and third with one out. But on a well hit grounder, second baseman Mauricio Dubon threw out J.P. Crawford at home attempting to score. It was Ort’s last batter before Bryan King retired the third out in the eighth for the Stros.

But the Astros were not to be outdone in this contest of futility. Jake Meyers led off, getting to second on an E6 throwing error. After a rare Yanier Diaz walk, Smith, Dubon, and Jeremy Pena failed to score the go-ahead lead runner. Paredes, who was 3-5 in the game, ingloriously stranded the bases loaded, grounding out to third.

But in the ninth inning, after an Altuve single, Christian Walker walked off the game with a line drive homer to the Crawford Boxes. It was Walker’s third hit and third RBI of the game. He’s no longer at the Mendoza line, and despite his struggles, his 23 RBI are pretty respectable.

The Astros took the four-game series from Seattle and are now just 1.5 games behind the Mariners for the AL West lead.

Kudos once again to the bullpen, today, Shawn Dubin, Caleb Ort, and Bryan King, for holding the tough Mariners lineup scoreless.

Strange, but no game tomorrow for Memorial Day.

Box Score HERE.