Fred Faour: What a finish! Alvarez’s dramatic ninth inning bomb reminds us why we never give up on these Astros

Admit it. You gave up.

I saw hundreds of you leaving Minute Maid after the seventh inning as I drove home from the radio station after my show to write this column.

Why did you do it? We have seen this over and over again in the postseason. The Astros don’t give up. They don’t quit.

They take your soul. And they ate the Mariners’ soul for dinner on a walk-off bomb by Yordan Alvarez for an 8-7 win in Game 1.

Seattle had everything going right. They beat up ace Justin Verlander for six runs in four innings. The cocky young Mariners were feeling themselves. And then they made the same mistake a lot of people did, including Astros fans. They thought the game was over when it was 7-3 after seven.

But that was seven innings. In the eighth, Alex Bregman hit a two-run bomb to make it 7-5. That set up the dramatics in the ninth when David Hensley was hit by a pitch. Jake Myers ran for him. After Jose Altuve struck out, Jeremy Pena had a clutch single. Two men on. Two out. Yordan at the plate.

Would we expect anything else but a three-run bomb to win the game? That is what these Astros do in the postseason. It is why they are World Series favorites. For the Mariners? This is worth more than losing one game. They did everything right for seven innings.

But they forgot who the Astros were. Now they are down 1-0 in the series. It feels like 2-0. They learned a lesson, and the fans did as well.

Never give up on these Astros. Because they never give up on themselves.