Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines scored dominant victories to kick-off the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday.
Barbados opened the competition with a commanding 67-27 victory over the Cayman Islands.
It was a relatively close affair after the first quarter as the Barbadians, currently ranked 13th in the world, led 13-4.
However, the Gems ramped up the intensity in second quarter stretching the lead to 21 to end the half ahead 34-13. They widened the lead 48-21 heading into the final quarter when they capped a fine display with 19 goals in the period to wind up 67-27 winners.
Goal shooter Faye Agard led the way for Barbados with 51 goals from 59 attempts while goal attack Brianna Holder had 16 goals from 21 attempts.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines were equally dominant in their 51-24 win over the USA.
St. Vincent got out to an early lead as the Americans struggled to put points on the board. The end of the first quarter saw the Vincentians up 15-3 and by halftime, the score was 30-9. The third quarter was no different as the USA found themselves getting their first basket at the four-minute mark, ending the quarter down 15-37 before ultimately suffering a 24-51 defeat.
Goal shooter Mary Ann Frederick led the way for S. Vincent & the Grenadines with 22 goals from 26 attempts while goal attack Kimesha Antoine also attempted 26 shots, converting 21 of them.
Coach of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Godfrey Harry, said his team got what they expected.
“It was predictable. We were expecting to win this game and we did. One of the things that we wanted to make sure of was that we experiment and use the depth of our team. All the players stepped up to the plate, which was great for us,” he said.
Despite the loss, USA assistant coach Keithan Grayson-Superville said she expects improvement after what was her team’s first international action in years.
“They didn’t do as much as I would’ve liked to see today but it’s our first game and we haven’t played internationally for over four years. We’re going to take it game by game and, as we go, we’re going to try to improve. We’re a work in progress.”
Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors' Rugby League World Cup debut got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday when they clobbered 48-2 by Ireland at Headingley Stadium in England.
The Irish team scored 10 tries against the Reggae Warriors porous defense that will need to improve if the team is to have a better go of it when they face New Zealand on Saturday, October 22.
Ireland scored first-half tries courtesy of Louis Senior, Captain George King, Brendan O'Hagan and Ed Chamberlain. Six tries came in the second half as Innes Senior, Louis’ twin brother, scored twice while Toby King, James McDonnell, James Bentley and Frankie Halton completed the rout.
Meanwhile, Kieran Rush scored Jamaica’s first-ever points in a Rugby League World Cup when kicked a penalty.
Reggae Warrior Michael Lawrence, who plays at loose forward, expressed his disappointment afterward citing several areas in which his team needed to improve going forward.
"I was disappointed with the way we dropped off a little bit. But it's a proud day for the team and nation. This was a starting point,” he said.
"We need to work on defense. That was a big area for me. We have to improve defensively. We've got to come out again and stick together. We have a great team spirit.
"This is massive, the way we perform. It's encouraging kids to pick up a rugby ball. We want to perform well but this is just the start. We want to keep coming back to the World Cup."
This was the second meeting between the two teams and their first in the World Cup.
Adrian Otaegui claimed his fourth DP World Tour title after a six-shot victory at the Andalucia Masters on Sunday.
The Spaniard went into the final round at Real Club Valderrama with a six-stroke cushion – a lead he never looked like relinquishing as he finished on 19 under par, setting a new course record.
Joakim Lagergren posted a final-round 68 to finish second, while Australia's Lee Min Woo was three shots back in third.
A two-over 73 saw Angel Hidalgo take fourth, with Rasmus Hojgaard in fifth on a score of six under for the week.
Otaegui, who hit four birdies and a single bogey in a closing round of 68, described it as the "perfect" week on his favourite course in Spain.
"I'm very, very proud. I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain, in front of these crowds, on my favourite golf course in Spain," he told Sky Sports.
"It's just unbelievable. I'm very, very happy with everything, the week went perfect.
"I'm very happy with the way I managed today because it was my first time with such a big shot difference.
"The plan was just to start strong, forget the shot difference I had and try to beat the others today.
"I played very well until the end. I tried to follow the plan and think I did well."
J.J. Wolf was no match for Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Firenze Open, as the Canadian won 6-4 6-4 in Florence.
Auger-Aliassime is targeting a place in the end-of-season ATP Finals and took a huge step towards securing such a spot on Sunday.
The top-seeded 22-year-old only dropped one set throughout the tournament and has now won his second ATP Tour-level title.
His victory over Wolf, the world number 75 who will rise to 56 on Monday, took only one hour and 41 minutes.
"It never gets old. Winning, it always feels like the first time," Auger-Aliassime, the new world number 10, said in his on-court interview.
"It's so special to win, especially here. I had a fantastic week and it's been amazing.
"Every final is tough, it's the two best players of the week. Of course you try to win more than you lose the finals, and that's why I came out here today ready to give everything.
"We had some very tough rallies in the second set, feeling tough physically. But you keep pushing, try to keep the level high.
"But there's no magic. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but of course I'm really happy because I came here [as] the first seed.
"I was the favourite in all of my matches on paper. It's never an easy position, so to come out and win my four matches with confidence and conviction, it's really good for my confidence."
Wolf saved nine of the 12 break points he offered yet could not make any inroads against Auger-Aliassime's serve, with the champion winning without conceding on his service game.
Qualifier Anna Blinkova landed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Jasmine Paolini in Sunday's Transylvania Open final.
The 24-year-old world number 138 had to come through qualifying in Cluj-Napoca, and she completed a stellar campaign at the Romanian event by getting her hands on the trophy.
Blinkova won 6-2 3-6 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes, scotching Paolini's hopes of a second title in her tour career.
"I felt great the whole 10 days that I spent here since last Wednesday," the Russian said in her trophy acceptance speech. "I'm really looking forward to coming back next year."
The WTA said Blinkova's success made her the fifth qualifier to secure a tour title in 2022, following victories for Tatjana Maria in Bogota, Anastasia Potapova in Istanbul, Bernarda Pera in Budapest and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati.
Blinkova, who was once ranked 54th in the world, will return to the world's top 100 on Monday.
Brooks Koepka edged out Peter Uihlein in a play-off to clinch the final individual prize of the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series on Sunday.
Two birdies on Koepka's front nine in Jeddah set him up well to push on for glory, but the American slipped up after the turn at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
A birdie on the 10th was followed by three successive bogeys, and though Koepka recovered to birdie on the 15th and the last to finish at 12 under par, he had provided his rivals with an opportunity to catch up.
Overnight leader Uihlein was one of those to take advantage, with a clean back nine seeing the 33-year-old bounce back from carding two double bogeys earlier on in his round, with his final score of 70 enough to force a play-off with Smash GC team-mate Koepka.
While it was good news for Smash GC, who secured a six-shot win to boost their form ahead of the Team Championship in Miami later this month, there had to be a loser, and after three holes with no give, Uihlein found a bunker.
Having rescued himself from a similar situation on the previous play-off hole, this time Uihlein could only clip a shot into the water, handing four-time major winner Koepka the chance to putt for victory.
"The last two years – they haven't been fun," an emotional Koepka said.
"So it's been a long road, I'm super excited. My whole team, we got the band back together a couple of months ago, this is for them.
"I didn't know if my career was over, for a half-second. I wasn't sure when I was going to play. It's nice to come back and win."
Joaquin Niemann went round in 65 to finish one shot behind the leading pair, tied with Sergio Garcia.
Inaugural LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson came in at 10 under, alongside Matthew Wolff, while Bernd Wiesberger joined Niemann in recording 65.
Forty-four netball coaches participated two-day Americas Netball coaching seminar at UWI Mona Campus on Thursday and Friday (October 13 and 14) and were instructed by of three of sport’s most experienced coaches.
Former Australia and Jamaica head coach Jill McIntosh, Sue Hawkins, the national coach of New Zealand and Rob Wright of Australia tutored coaches from across the region that included 30 from Jamaica and 14 others from across the Americas.
"We have coaches who will be participating in the qualifier and other coaches as well as about 30 coaches from Jamaica. We are trying to upskill them in all the different skills of netball and finding different ways to keep their minds open,” McIntosh explained.
“We are covering shooting, the mid-court and centre-passes and some specific centre pass attacks, some specific centre-pass defence, feeding - how they feed. We are covering defending, all the principles on defending.”
McIntosh also revealed that the experience was encouraging.
"The coaches have been great. They have been interactive. They have gone out and participated. The questioning has been good and we have got lots of talk and chatter and it’s around about what they see and how they can change it and how they can progress it so the chatter is good," she said.
"My observation of the region is that they have wonderful athletes so we need to up-skill the coaches to show them many ways of doing the same thing and from a purely Jamaica perspective, I have seen the girls grow and what I saw at the Commonwealth games, I was so heartened and pleased, they did such an amazing job."
Dr. Bridget Adams of Trinidad & Tobago was elected unopposed as the new president of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) during the federation's Annual General Meeting at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Saturday and has promised to hit the ground running.
Andrey Rublev defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets in Sunday's Gijon Open final to land his 12th ATP Tour title.
The Russian had already prevailed in Belgrade, Dubai and Marseille this year and added another crown to his collection with a 6-2 6-3 victory against Korda in 75 minutes.
Top seed Rublev had dropped only one set in his three matches en route to the final and impressed against Korda with 29 winners, three breaks and just four unforced errors.
Korda, seeking a second Tour-level trophy following success in Parma last year, had his serve broken in the fourth and eighth games of the opening set.
Some heavy-hitting exchanges kept spectators gripped, though Rublev proved too strong for Korda in the second set and earned the only break in the sixth game.
Rublev got over the line with his fourth match point and remains sixth in the chase for an ATP Finals spot, with four of those ahead of him already qualified, along with Novak Djokovic.
Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez said he would not wish Alex Rins well as the latter prepares to join Honda from Suzuki next season.
The pair were involved in another tight last-lap duel at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Rins - set to join LCR Honda in 2023 - emerging victorious after holding off the Repsol Honda man.
Marquez, who picked up his 100th podium in the premier class, said he would not offer any advice to his fellow Spaniard though, stating it would be "fake" to offer him his wishes as he will still be his rival.
"I will not give any advice," he said. "For me it is another opponent. It's good that joining Honda is one world champion [Joan Mir] and one rider that is winning races with another manufacturer.
"Like this we will see exactly the level. I'm working really hard for the 2023 project with Honda and they are working really, really hard too.
"I don’t say I wish [him] the best. He is another opponent, if not it would be fake."
Michael Hooper is back in the Australia squad for the upcoming tour of Europe, but James Slipper will retain the captaincy.
Hooper has not played since he withdrew from the Wallabies squad on the eve of their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in August.
The flanker stated that he was not in the right frame of mind to play, but is set to make his comeback on the international stage after being included in a 36-man squad on Sunday.
Slipper will continue to skipper Australia, while the uncapped Jock Campbell, Ben Donaldson, Langi Gleeson, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Sam Talakai have been included.
Overseas-based duo Bernard Foley and Will Skelton were also selected for a tour that starts with a Test against Scotland at Murrayfield on October 30.
The Wallabies, who finished third in the Rugby Championship, will also face France, Italy, Ireland and Wales next month.
Australia head coach Dave Rennie said: "We've got a massive opportunity over the next five matches to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the world and string together some performances that our supporters are proud of back home in Australia.
"It's been really pleasing to continue to get game time into our players through the Australia A programme and a number of those guys have been rewarded for their form with selection in the squad.
"To have Michael back in the group is massive for our team on and off the field and we'll continue to make sure that he has the support around him he needs."
Australia squad:
Allan Alaalatoa, Tom Banks, Jock Campbell, Ben Donaldson, Folau Fainga'a, Lalakai Foketi, Bernard Foley, Matt Gibbon, Nick Frost, Langi Gleeson, Jake Gordon, Ned Hanigan, Reece Hodge, Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Len Ikitau, Andrew Kellaway, Noah Lolesio, Lachlan Lonergan, Tate McDermott, Fraser McReight, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Cadeyrn Neville, Hunter Paisami, Jordan Petaia, Matt Philip, David Porecki, Tom Robertson, Pete Samu, Will Skelton, James Slipper (captain), Sam Talakai, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Nic White, Tom Wright.
Fabio Quartararo said he is in for "the toughest job of his career" after his crash at the Australian Grand Prix handed the MotoGP title race lead to Francesco Bagnaia.
Quartararo conceded the lead in the championship when he crashed out on Turn 2 of the 11th lap on Sunday, while trying to make up for an early mistake that had seen him fall to the back of the race.
The Frenchman has now failed to collect points in three of his last four races, and Bagnaia's third-placed finish at the Phillip Island Circuit propelled him 14 points ahead of Quartararo in the standings.
Indeed, Quartararo was fortunate the Ducati rider gave up his lead to Alex Rins and Marc Marquez on the final lap.
Quartararo's chances of retaining his title might well be slipping away, but the 23-year-old will give it his all.
"Now we need to turn the page and we only have one job and it's trying to win," Quartararo, who held Bagnaia off last season to win his maiden MotoGP title, told reporters.
"It's going to be the toughest job of my career, but I'm ready to fight for it."
Quartararo gave up the title lead at a similarly late stage in 2020, ultimately finishing eighth, though he does not believe this season is comparable to two years ago.
"[In] 2020 [it] was mentally and technically, and now I don't feel mentally like I'm over-thinking too much or not. So mentally I don't feel it's [like] 2020," he added.
"I'm just trying to do my best and I'm overriding a little bit too much and the risk of having a mistake is really close. So that's what happened."
Rins, meanwhile, celebrated victory in what will be his final race in Australia with Suzuki, who are withdrawing from MotoGP at the end of the season.
He said: "I'm super happy to finish in the first position. First of all it will be the last time with the Suzuki here at the Island.
"I'm blessed that I got the first position for this and then for all the people that were supporting me during all the season, during all the bad moments. The team really deserves [this win] and all the staff in Hamamatsu.
"We really deserve it and in many races we know our weak point which is the qualifying.
"We struggled but in some races we had unbelievable pace and were forced to finish in fifth position, sixth position for this reason. The victory was quite nice. It's sad that Suzuki is leaving but let's leave with the victory."
Aaron Boone expects the New York Yankees to hit back after a "gut-wrenching" Game 3 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians as they battle to keep the American League Division Series alive.
The Guardians lead the best-of-five series 2-1 after a dramatic 6-5 victory at Progressive Field on Saturday.
Cleveland went into the ninth inning trailing 5-3, but Oscar Gonzalez came up with a two-out, two-strike single with the bases loaded to consign the Yankees to a walk-off loss.
Yankees manager Boone expects a response in a do-or-die Game 4 in Cleveland on Sunday.
He said: "It was a gut-wrenching ending, but we've got to get over it. Now we’re obviously up against it, but I still love our chances.
"We've got Gerrit [Cole] going tomorrow. We've got to take care of business and try and get back to New York."
Boone called for rookie pitcher Clarke Schmidt to close it out rather than Clay Holmes as the Yankees tried to cling onto their advantage in Game 3.
He defended that decision, stating Holmes would not pitch back-to-back days due to shoulder soreness.
"Part of the thing with him [Holmes] being available for this series, [he] was not really in a back-to-back situation yet," Boone explained. "He just hadn't thrown any live or anything.
"So while he was pretty good today and I fully expect him available tomorrow [Sunday], it just felt like we needed to stay away there."
Holmes felt ready to step up if called upon.
"I prepared today to do my job," Holmes said. “Sometimes those decisions aren't mine. I felt like I was available to pitch.
"Whenever my name is called, I'm ready to go out there and give it everything I've got. They asked, and I said I was good to go if needed. That’s how the conversation was. Those decisions aren't mine, but I was prepared to pitch."
Joe Musgrove was born in San Diego and has watched the Padres lose, lose and lose again against the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire life.
When Musgrove was born in December 1992, the Dodgers had a 227-198 all-time lead in a regular season series in which they have never trailed. That gap has since increased to 509-418.
After returning to San Diego with the Padres in 2021, the pitcher has three losses and no wins in this matchup.
"Since I was a little kid, we've been getting beat up by the Dodgers," Musgrove said.
But on Saturday, that all changed, with Musgrove the starter as the Padres eliminated the best regular season Dodgers team of all from the NLDS.
San Diego had recovered from losing the first game of the series to the record-breaking 111-win Dodgers, leading 2-1 ahead of Game 4 at Petco Park.
However, through six and a half innings, it appeared LA would be recovering their hold over the Padres, ahead 3-0 in the middle of the seventh.
Then five hits and five runs in the bottom of that inning turned the tide, with Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run single ultimately enough for a remarkable 5-3 win.
The Padres are going back to the NLCS for the first time since 1998 and are doing so having beaten a team who had swept their only previous postseason series in 2020 and dominated them 14-5 this year.
"These guys dominated us all year long, but we got hot at the right time," Musgrove added.
"And you see the unity in this group, this fan base.... we wanted to give it to these people so bad. It's a good feeling."
The Dodgers had been bidding to fulfil manager Dave Roberts' prediction of a World Series all year long, but they fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs.
"Shock factor, very high. Disappointment, very high. It's crushing," Roberts said afterwards.
"Each guy gave everything they had all year long, and [it was] a tremendous season. The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing.
"Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously we didn't expect to be in this position."
Keegan Bradley claimed his first win since 2018 as he edged out Rickie Fowler and Andrew Putnam at the Zozo Championship.
Bradley was left fighting back tears after rolling in the winning putt, which saw him end a wait that stretched back to the BMW Championship over four years ago.
The 2011 US PGA champion prevailed thanks to a two-under 68, overcoming a wobble in which he carded two bogeys in three holes between the 14th and 16th.
It took him to 15 under par and proved enough to beat overnight leader Fowler, who could only manage a level par 70.
Fowler has not won on the PGA Tour since 2019. Putnam, whose last win came a month before Bradley's in August 2018, also finished one stroke back after a 68.
Emiliano Grillo's 64 was the second-best score of the day behind Lucas Herbert's 63 and took him to 13 under and outright fourth.
Viktor Hovland, Hayden Buckley and Sahith Theegala finished in a three-way tie for fifth.
Deontay Wilder ended his return to the ring inside the first round with a swift knockout of Robert Helenius in Brooklyn and then claimed he had brought back "excitement in the heavyweight division".
The former WBC champion had not fought since back-to-back defeats to Tyson Fury, the second coming last October.
But after just over a year away, Wilder made light work of underdog opponent Helenius, who was knocked down by a trademark big right hand with seconds left in the opening round.
Wilder had outlined this week his desire to land "the number one fight in the world" against Anthony Joshua, but he was open-minded about his next task following the defeat of Helenius.
"I'm down for whatever," Wilder said. "Andy Ruiz, [Oleksandr] Usyk or whatever. Deontay Wilder is back. The excitement in the heavyweight division is back."
Wilder enjoyed himself on his return at Barclays Center, adding: "We wanted to make this fun again.
"You can do this so long it can be a job, just something you are doing. We made it fun. It paid off big time."
The defeat of Helenius, his former sparring partner, saw Wilder improve to 43-2-1 with 42 knockouts.
The San Diego Padres delivered an unbelievable five-run seventh-inning rally to progress to the NLCS for the first time in 24 years and end the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-breaking season prematurely.
The Padres had lost Game 1 of the NLDS and trailed 3-0 halfway through the seventh inning in Game 4 against the Dodgers, who have dominated them for the past decade and had notched a franchise-best 111-51 regular season.
But San Diego found a way in front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history, booking their maiden NLCS appearance since 1998, where they will take on the Philadelphia Phillies, after they beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Saturday.
Jake Cronenworth delivered a go-ahead two-run single as the Padres rallied with five hits and five runs in the seventh inning after managing only four hits in six innings prior to that.
Freddie Freeman lined a two-run double in the third inning before Will Smith's seventh-inning sacrifice fly for Mookie Betts had put the Dodgers 3-0 up, the latter marking the first run the Padres bullpen had conceded all series.
San Diego responded in a crazy inning, with Austin Nola bouncing to the right side to plate Jurickson Profar, before Kim Ha-seong's left-field line drive drove in Trent Grisham to make it 3-2.
Juan Soto tied the game up with a shot into right field, before Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run double turned the crowd raucous.
Closer Josh Hader struck out Freeman to clinch the win and slay the dragon from down the road at long last.
The defeat ended the campaign for the Dodgers, whose 111 regular-season wins were the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.
Yankees facing elimination after Gonzalez walkoff
Oscar Gonzalez stole the show and the win for the Cleveland Guardians with a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning to earn a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees and a 2-1 ALDS lead.
Gonzalez hit the walk-off shot when he lined a 1-2 pitch from Clarke Schmidt through the middle to bring home Stevan Kwan and Amed Rosario.
That came after the Yankees had rallied from an early 2-0 deficit as Aaron Judge snapped his postseason skid with a two-run home run. New York had carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning.
The Yankees bullpen flopped, meaning they are facing an early exit when the ALDS resumes on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Astros advance after Pena ends epic
Jeremy Pena blasted an 18th-inning solo shot to advance the Houston Astros to the ALCS for the sixth straight season, ending an epic 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners and completing the sweep.
Luis Garcia closed out six hours and 22 minutes of prolonged postseason action, after Pena sent Penn Murfee into the seats over left-center field with a 415-foot blast.
Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby had been brilliant with five strikeouts across seven innings, but Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr overcame illness to send down seven K's across six innings, while Houston's bullpen only allowed five hits and struck out 15.
The game was only the fourth to last 18 innings in MLB postseason history, and the first in postseason history to go scoreless through 17 innings.
World number one Iga Swiatek qualified for her ninth WTA Tour of the year, coming from a set down to get past fourth seed Jessica Pegula at the San Diego Open on a rain-affected Saturday.
Swiatek was at her dominant best against Pegula after dropping the opening frame, breaking her opponents' serve four times in the latter two sets to triumph 4-6 6-2 6-2 in two hours and six minutes.
The Pole extended her domination of Pegula this year, winning all four of their encounters in 2022, while the victory is her 63rd of the season, equaling Angelique Kerber's mark from 2016. Swiatek is also 23-1 in the United States this season.
Swiatek finished with 22-8 forehand winners, while she won 75 per cent of her second serves, compared to Pegula's 38 per cent.
After Pegula won the first set that included three breaks of serve, the match was halted for more than an hour due to rain, with Swiatek revealing post-game she passed time with crosswords.
That worked for the top seed who raced to a 3-0 second-set lead after the resumption and did not drop serve for the remainder of the match, saving three break points at 2-2 in the third.
The 2022 French Open and US Open champion will take on either Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic or American world number 19 Danielle Collins in Sunday's decider after their semi-final was ultimately suspended due to rain.
Collins leads Vekic 4-6 6-4 4-2 with the match restarted three times after rain, before the call was made to postpone it until Sunday, no earlier than 12.30pm local time, with the final to be played later in the day.
Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker hailed his side for never panicking as they edged an 18-inning epic after Jeremy Pena's homer to sweep the ALCS with a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.
The game was only the fourth 18-inning game in MLB postseason history, and the first in postseason history to go scoreless through 17 innings. It officially lasted six hours and 22 minutes.
The Astros made their own history with the series-sweeping victory, becoming the first team in the MLB to win a playoff series in six straight seasons. Houston also reached the ALCS for a record sixth consecutive time.
That would not have been possible if not for 25-year-old shortstop Pena's 18th-inning solo shot over deep left-center field off a Penn Murfee 3-2 fastball, before Luis Garcia closed it out earning praise from Baker.
"This is some team," Baker told reporters. "These guys they grind and grind and grind. And sooner or later we broke through.
"These guys, they know not to panic. They don't get too excited. They don't get too down. It means a lot."
The Astros have endured plenty over the past few years in light of the sign stealing scandal, before a period of success under Baker since taking over in January 2020.
Houston lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS in 2020, before losing the World Series to the Atlanta Braves in 2021. Baker said their sustained success was all about "excellence".
"Once you've been through it and go through it again and again and again, you expect excellence," he said. "That's what this team expects out of itself."
"We didn’t know who the hero was going to be tonight. We were hoping we'd have somebody and we had somebody in Pena. This whole series it's been different guys. Our pitching staff and our bullpen did a heck of a job during this whole series."
The defeat ended a wild ride for the Mariners, who reached the postseason for the first time in 21 years, and were cheered by their fans at T-Mobile Park after the game despite the defeat.
"We were right there," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "You look at the whole series it really comes down to three swings of the bat.
"I thought our pitching was just off the chart, starting with George Kirby. To fire him out in a must-win game and get seven shutout innings from a rookie, you can't ask for anymore. Great experience.
"The number of young players that played huge roles for us in this series is going to benefit us immensely going forward."
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