SEATTLE — The Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners played their way into the record books Saturday, matching the longest postseason game in MLB history. They played 18 innings in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, with the Astros winning, 1-0, on a Jeremy Peña home run in the top of the frame.
According to MLB.com, the longest a postseason game had previously gone is 18 innings. And now, that's been done four times, two with games that included the Houston Astros.
First, there was Saturday's Astros-Mariners game, which went 18 innings.
Before that, in 2005, Houston beat Atlanta, 7-6 in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. That game, too, took 18 innings to determine a winner. In that one, Chris Burke sent Astros fans home happy with a walk-off winner at Minute Maid Park.
Those games are tied for the longest with the Dodgers and Red Sox in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. Los Angeles won that one, 3-2, in 18 innings. Also going 18 games was Game 2 of the National League Division Series in 2014 as the Giants needed 18 innings to top the Nationals, 2-1.
The Astros were also involved in a 16-inning game in the 1986 National League Championship Series. That was a 7-6 loss to the Mets. That had been the longest postseason game for nearly 20 years before the 2005 game surpassed it.
Saturday's Astros-Mariners game is also the longest MLB postseason game in history to go scoreless, eclipsing a game earlier this postseason between the Guardians and Rays. That game was scoreless until the 15th inning, when the Guardians won it, 1-0, according to Bleacher Report.
