Jeremy Pena hits 18th-inning homer as Astros sweep Mariners

SEATTLE — Jeremy Pena homered in the 18th inning, and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on Saturday to advance to the American League Championship Series for the sixth straight year.

Pena, who had been 0-for-7 in the game, drove a slider from Penn Murfee deep to left-center for the rookie shortstop's first playoff homer, proving the only run in an afternoon full of dominant pitching and empty trips to the plate. The 18 innings matched the longest game in playoff history.

It was the fourth 18th-inning home run in MLB playoff history.

Spoiling Seattle's first home playoff appearance since 2001, Houston completed a three-game sweep of the ALDS. Next up is the New York Yankees or Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday.

The sixth consecutive ALCS for the Astros is the second-longest streak since the round was created in 1969 and the longest in American League history.

While Yordan Alvarez got the big hits in the first two games in Houston, it was Pena that set the table for Alvarez's opportunities. As Game 3 made its way into its sixth hour, Pena delivered another painful blow to the Mariners that ended their short return to the postseason.

After 21 years, Seattle fans welcomed playoff baseball back inside T-Mobile Park. They got their money's worth, and then some.

The Mariners, however, became the first team in MLB history to lose in 18 innings and lose on a walk-off home run in separate games of the same playoff series.

Three previous playoff games reached the 18th inning before conclusion, one involving Houston. The Astros beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6 in 18 innings in Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS on Chris Burke's game-ending homer.

Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS between San Francisco and Washington and