Josh Naylor walk-off single in 10th gives Seattle Mariners 6-5 win over Astros to avoid playoff elimination
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 23: Josh Naylor #12 of the Seattle Mariners is swarmed by his teammates after a hitting walk-off single in the 10th inning against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park on September 23, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Jack Compton / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Josh Naylor singled home Randy Arozarena with the winning run in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners kept their slim playoff hopes alive by rallying past the Houston Astros 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Houston (78-80) remained tied atop the AL West with Texas, which has lost three straight games. The Astros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record.
The Mariners (74-84) are four games back with four to play.
Seattle was down 5-4 after automatic runner Yordan Alvarez scored on a triple to right field by Isaac Paredes in the top of the 10th.
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom half, Julio Rodríguez worked a full-count walk from Astros closer Josh Hader, forcing in J.P. Crawford with the tying run. Naylor sent Hader’s next pitch to right-center, and Arozarena scored his third run of the night.
Alvarez went 2 for 4 without an RBI in his pursuit of the AL Triple Crown. That raised his league-leading batting average to .316. Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson, second at .309, did not play Wednesday against the New York Yankees.
Alvarez is part of a three-way tie for the home run lead at 41 with the Rays’ Junior Caminero and Baltimore’s Pete Alonso. The Houston slugger is second in RBIs with 102, eight behind Alonso.
Before his tying walk, Rodríguez had three hits for the Mariners.
Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Nick Allen each had two hits for Houston. One of Diaz’s hits was his 14th homer, a two-run shot to cap a four-run third.
Cooper Criswell (4-2) pitched the 10th inning to earn the win for Seattle. Hader (4-2), who also pitched the ninth, took the loss.
Seattle scored three times in the third to pull to 4-3. The first two runs came on Dominic Canzone’s double as he extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. Canzone’s single in the fifth scored Arozarena to tie it at 4.
Up next
The Mariners will send right-hander Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.92 ERA) to the mound Thursday in the opener of a season-ending four-game series against the Angels.
Right-hander Peter Lambert (8-10, 3.70) will pitch for the Astros in the first game of a four-game set at the Athletics.
The Source: Information in this story comes from The Associated Press.
MORE MARINERS NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Ballpark Buzz: Mariners Radio Broadcaster Rick Rizzs joins Good Day Seattle
Houston Astros club three home runs as Seattle Mariners lose 7-0 for 15th shutout of season
Rookie Kade Anderson tosses seven scoreless innings as Seattle Mariners beat Rockies 2-1
Seattle Mariners on verge of playoff elimination after 5-3 loss to Rockies
Lazaro Montes ninth inning home run carries Seattle Mariners to 5-4 win over Rockies
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.