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SEATTLE, Washington (KTRK) — In the words of iconic wordsmith Marshall Bruce Mathers III, “If you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted. One moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?”
For the Houston Astros, a golden, shining opportunity awaits them in the typically cloud-covered, gloomy Pacific Northwest, where a twice-beaten but understandably vengeful Seattle Mariners team stands between the ‘Stros and their sixth straight AL Championship Series berth.
All they have to do is seize it, just once, ideally in the first of three tries.
Houston’s first shot at clinching the historic distinction comes in AL Division Series Game 3 at T-Mobile Park. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Here’s what we know ahead of the pivotal contest.
Astros’ ALCS tickets on sale before door closed on ALDS
Not that it should strike fear into any superstitious Astros fans, but the club has already open sales for home AL Championship Series tickets at Minute Maid Park.
Houston would have homefield advantage if they advance, so sales links for Games 1 and 2, as well as potential Games 6 and 7, which are listed as “Home Game 3” and “Home Game 4,” are active on the Astros’ website.
Of course, if things go south in Seattle and the Astros drop the next two opportunities to clinch, the Astros return to Minute Maid Park for a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 on Monday. And, yes, tickets are on sale for that afternoon affair.
Seattle hosts its first MLB postseason game in 21 years
The Mariners have a long-suffering fanbase. The playoff drought they’ve tolerated is old enough to buy a beer.
But the M’s are making the most of their return to the postseason, sweeping Toronto and now hosting a division rival as the first playoff opponent they’ve hosted in 21 Octobers.
So a playoff-hungry crowd should be loud enough to rival any game played by the Mariners’ next-door neighbor, the Seahawks. And the Astros are aware of that.
“(Mariners’) fans are going to be electric,” Astros closing pitcher Ryan Pressly said. “To take two here, it kinda takes a little bit of pressure off you going up there, but you want to keep the pedal down and keep going.”
ALDS clinch history
If poise in competition makes you shaky of whether the Astros can pull off a win in hostile territory, may we offer a history lesson.
The ESPN Stats and Info twitter account posted a favorable statistic for H-Town.
“Houston is 5-1 in best-of-five series when they had a 2-0 lead, and have won each of their last five,” a tweet read.
Want more history? No. 44 is single-handedly smashing record books.
“Yordan Alvarez is the first player in MLB postseason history with multiple career go-ahead HR in the 6th inning or later when his team was trailing, each of his coming in his last 2 games off of Robbie Ray (reigning AL Cy Young winner) and Luis Castillo (perennial All-Star),” ESPN Stats and Info tweeted.
If they want to make it a clean ALDS sweep, the Astros will have to depend on a strong Game 3 outing by starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who memorably last pitched in the postseason in the 2021 ALDS where he was pulled in the middle of Game 4 with a wrist ailment that sidelined him for much of 2022.