Mariners trade bombs with Astros, win 5-4

hope this interaction doesn’t lead to any kind of fallout between us

One of the things I’ve liked most about the new Fallout show (don’t worry, no spoilers here) is that the narrative replicates one of the best elements of the narratives from the games, that being escalation. The Fallout games lead the player from fighting simple pests like rats, geckos, or roaches to solving problems for small local towns, to deciding the fates of nations and institutions. This escalation in consequences is accompanied by the escalation of tension and stakes, mirrors the player character’s growing abilities and equipment, and culminates in a dramatic set piece.

And so it was, if you’ll permit me my trademarked slightly-tortured metaphor, with today’s 5-4 Mariners win over the Houston Astros. The baseball game opened about as predictably as a Fallout game saying “war never changes” in the intro, with Josh Rojas hitting yet another leadoff extra base hit, doubling in his first at-bat against Hunter Brown. Rojas must have a 10 in both Strength and Perception because he’s seeing the ball well and hitting it hard right now.

Julio walked to put two on and threaten early, but Brown buckled down and struck out the Mariners faster than a new player realizes that walking through Quarry Junction at the start of New Vegas was a bad idea.

The Astros must have copied the Mariners build, as they mirrored the M’s in the bottom of the first, getting the first two hitters aboard and setting up Yordan Alvarez to do damage. But he thankfully lineout to center. After that, Luis Urías showed off his character build, complete with maxed out agility.

In the second inning, the Mariners took another crack at the Radscorpion Cave, looking for the antidote to their strikeouts last time up. They picked up some companions this time, and quickly loaded the bases against Brown. Brown, it seems, didn’t spec into throwing weapons, as he could not find the zone against Urías, and walked in the first run of the game and turning the lineup over. Courier Josh Rojas followed up that walk by delivering another run with a line drive single into left. Two runs would be all though, as Julio struck out and Polanco grounded into a double play. Aw well, let them level up a bit and come back later.

After the second, both teams took some time away from the main story to do some sidequests, as just a handful of batters reached base until the sixth. Luke Raley must have used that time to visit Diamond City and pick himself up a swatter from Moe Cronin, because there is no other way to explain what he did to this baseball.

But like I said, Fallout ratchets up the tension as the story continues, and to have tension in a ballgame, both teams have to score. Which the Astros finally did in the bottom of the sixth when Kyle Tucker made it a one run game with his 9th home run of the year. An inning later, Jon Singleton picked up his first hit of the series with a two-run shot of his own, putting the Astros ahead. Mariners starter Bryce Miller’s struggles with lefties have been well documented and this late in the game, much like the NCR in the Mojave, he was stretched too thin.

With the Astros now ahead, the Mariners needed to boot up their wasteland contraptions and fabricate something. And Dylan Moore getting plunked by a first pitch fastball was all the materials they needed. D-Mo was able to move up another 90 feet on a balk called on Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu. Luis Urías, like the best companions, continued to be the secret hero of the game by plopping a line drive into left-center field. D-Mo made a bad read off the bat, but a quick puff of jet later and he slid safely into home.

And now with a tie game in the late innings, the pressure was on. All of the sidequests and character development from the entire game up to this point set the stage for a single dramatic showdown to end it all. And who else could be the hero but our own homemade nuke launcher, Cal Raleigh.

Baseball, like war, never changes.

With the lead now secured, all that was left was for Andres Muñoz to finish it out and let Mariners set out into the wasteland with their heads held high.

But they aren’t done yet. After their sixth consecutive series win, they’ve gotten word that another settlement needs their help and are heading off for a four game series in Minnesota. Jorge Polanco, like the Vault Dweller from Fallout 1, was a hero for them who was made to leave. We’ll see what happens when he returns.