Astros Eliminate Mariners and Advance to ALCS

He added: “They probably need some time just to rest and realize what they did. They overcame a lot. They broke a couple-of-decade drought. They engaged a city in baseball that really hasn’t been engaged in this way in a long time.”

The fans stayed engaged, even after the end. When the Mariners lost to Cleveland in the 1995 A.L.C.S., the fans roared in the Kingdome, reluctant to leave before a final salute to the first playoff team in franchise history. On Saturday, they reprised the act for a minute or two, standing and chanting, “Let’s go Mariners!”, while the Astros celebrated below.

Some of the players had left for the clubhouse by then, but third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who led the Mariners in homers in his first season here, climbed from the dugout to return the gesture.

“I never thought that was going to happen, but I’ve got that on my mind for the rest of my career, for the rest of my life,” Suárez said. “They cheered us from the beginning of the season, and today they never left the stands. I just wanted to give a little bit of my heart to them, because they really deserve it.”

The Mariners could not give their fans another playoff game, or even a single run on Saturday. But they gave them something to savor: a new beginning.

“Today our season ended,” Suárez said. “But we’re going home proud.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/16/sports/baseball/mariners-astros-alds-game-3.html