HOUSTON -- Only those in the building could see the play forming on Saturday night -- one that, if the Mariners wind up winning the American League West, will be replayed for years to come.
Because for a franchise salivating at the chance for its first World Series appearance, Victor Robles might as well have been wearing a cape when corralling what might go down as Seattle’s catch of the year.
The Mariners’ right fielder sealed a tense, 6-4 win over the Astros by diving headfirst on a ball into shallow right field at Daikin Park to secure the second out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Then he recorded the game’s final out by doubling-up speedster Jake Meyers, who crossed the plate thinking he’d scored from second before realizing what had happened.
"He's going to live in my head for the rest of my life, probably -- that picture of him just flying and catching that ball,” said Julio Rodríguez, who had the best vantage point of anyone among the ticketed 42,065, when sliding behind Robles and avoiding a collision.
Those watching on TV likely thought Rodríguez was going to take a one-hopper in front of him, get the relay throw in and limit Houston’s rally to one run. But Robles raced out of the screen’s right side, already midair and flying like Superman -- but his Metropolis was instead Houston.
“In those plays, you can't really think about the risk,” Robles said through an interpreter. “You think you’ve just got to go for it.”
Robles’ miraculous moment was the bow on a dramatic night between teams who’ve played that game in this building countless times -- most of which ended in the home team celebrating. That the Mariners eked it out, despite being on the cusp of another back-breaking loss, underscored that perhaps the division’s tides are turning.
“You're never guaranteed anything here,” said Cal Raleigh, who hit his 57th homer in the third inning to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for the most in a single season in franchise history. “They're a good team. They've been here before. They've owned the West for a long time, and they play well in this park. So you're never comfortable.”
In victory, the Mariners secured a series win and the season tiebreaker over the Astros, who all of a sudden are out of postseason contention altogether with just seven games to play.
Seattle (86-69) has now won 13 of its past 14 games, advanced to a season-high 17 games above .500 and now has its largest lead on first place in the AL West since May 24, at two games. The Mariners also extended their lead for the AL’s No. 2 seed over the Tigers to, essentially, two games since they hold the tiebreaker over reeling Detroit.
They can clinch their first AL West title since 2001 with any combination of five wins and Astros losses in the final seven games.
“We're hungry,” Raleigh said. “We want to do this thing right. We want to just keep pushing, win one game at a time. We're not pulling our head up, not trying to let off the gas at all -- just trying to, every day, execute and just win that day. It's not over.”
Raleigh’s homer was merely an opening act to Saturday’s incredible game, which saw the Mariners take a 6-0 lead while riding six shutout innings from George Kirby in what was arguably his most encouraging start. Kirby blanked the 22 batters he faced with just five hits and zero walks, and he masterfully worked out of the only true jam he fell into, with runners on the corners in the sixth. He also generated seven strikeouts -- all via fastballs, all at 96.8 mph or higher.
“I love pitching here,” Kirby said. “They're always going to make you work. Just the atmosphere here and everything about it, I love it.”
But the Astros, in typical fashion, injected anxiety when Jeremy Pena hit a seventh-inning grand slam off Carlos Vargas. Then they sent the go-ahead run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth.
Had it not been for Robles, the night’s highlight might’ve gone to Gabe Speier, who helped Seattle clear that first jam, notching a 97.4 mph strikeout to pinch-hitter Christian Walker, who despite his huge struggles, has tape-measure power and could’ve taken the lead with one swing. It was Speier’s second-fastest strikeout pitch ever over his career -- and arguably the biggest pitch of his Mariners career.
“That's probably the highest-adrenaline spot I've ever been in,” Speier said. “I was kind of floating a little bit out there. It didn't feel much, but also surprisingly calm at the same time. I felt within myself.”
The late theater forced Mariners manager Dan Wilson to deploy Andrés Muñoz for the third straight day -- his first such workload since Sept. 4-6, 2023 -- and the two-time All-Star quickly found himself on the cusp of a spiral, with a hit-by-pitch to No. 8 hitter Jake Meyers, then a one-out walk to Pena.
That set the stage for Carlos Correa, who wound up being Robles’ victim. Did he think he’d get to it?
"Not Robles. I was looking at Julio,” Correa said. “I didn’t even know where Robles came from. To me it looked like he was really far from the moment I hit it. I was just watching Julio and then I thought the ball would drop and then he came out of nowhere. It was a fantastic play."