Mariners rally past Astros 6-5 in 10 innings to keep faint playoff hopes alive

SEATTLE (AP) — Josh Naylor singled home Randy Arozarena with the winning run in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners kept their slim playoff hopes alive by rallying past the Houston Astros 6-5 on Wednesday night.

Houston (78-80) remained tied atop the AL West with Texas, which has lost three straight games. The Astros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record.

The Mariners (74-84) are four games back with four to play.

Seattle was down 5-4 after automatic runner Yordan Alvarez scored on a triple to right field by Isaac Paredes in the top of the 10th.

With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom half, Julio Rodríguez worked a full-count walk from Astros closer Josh Hader, forcing in J.P. Crawford with the tying run. Naylor sent Hader’s next pitch to right-center, and Arozarena scored his third run of the night.

Alvarez went 2 for 4 without an RBI in his pursuit of the AL Triple Crown. That raised his league-leading batting average to .316. Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson, second at .309, did not play Wednesday against the New York Yankees.

Alvarez is part of a four-way tie for the home run lead at 41 with the Rays’ Junior Caminero, Baltimore’s Pete Alonso and the Yankees' Ben Rice. The Houston slugger is second in RBIs with 102, eight behind Alonso.

Before his tying walk, Rodríguez had three hits for the Mariners.

Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Nick Allen each had two hits for Houston. One of Diaz’s hits was his 14th homer, a two-run shot to cap a four-run third.

Cooper Criswell (4-2) pitched the 10th inning to earn the win for Seattle. Hader (4-2), who also pitched the ninth, took the loss.

Seattle scored three times in the third to pull to 4-3. The first two runs came on Dominic Canzone’s double as he extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. Canzone’s single in the fifth scored Arozarena to tie it at 4.

The Mariners will send right-hander Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.92 ERA) to the mound Thursday in the opener of a season-ending four-game series against the Angels.

Right-hander Peter Lambert (8-10, 3.70) will pitch for the Astros in the first game of a four-game set at the Athletics.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez reacts to drawing a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run and tie the game against the Houston Astros during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Astros relief pitcher Josh Hader reacts after driving in a run by walking Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez with the bases loaded during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off RBI single against the Houston Astros in the 10th inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez, left, douses teammate Josh Naylor, right, after Naylor hit a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning to win a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor hits a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Morocco’s Authenticity and Modernity Party won the largest number of seats in the country’s parliamentary election, according to provisional results announced by the Interior Ministry early Thursday.

Meanwhile, the governing National Assembly of Independents, known by its French acronym RNI, suffered major losses while a moderate Islamist party made a strong comeback.

Moroccans voted for a new parliament Wednesday in an election shaped by mounting frustration among young people, high unemployment despite a thriving economy and demands for better schools, hospitals and housing.

Authenticity and Modernity, or PAM, won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, Morocco's lower house. The party was followed by the Independents with 66 seats and the Istiqlal Party with 65. The Justice and Development Party, a moderate Islamist party that won just 13 seats in 2021, surged to 54.

Authenticity and Modernity and Istiqlal were members of the parliamentary majority that formed the outgoing Independents-led government.

Authenticity and Modernity was founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a childhood friend and close adviser to King Mohammed VI. The party emerged as a major political force seen as a counterweight to Justice and Development, which previously led the government for a decade.

Voter turnout was 38% — the lowest since 2007.

The vote was the first since deadly youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross Morocco’s northern border into the Spanish territory of Ceuta that left dozens dead. It will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.

The next government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup, prompting some to describe it as the “World Cup government.” The new political leadership will also face pressure to address everyday concerns, including jobs, wages and the cost of living.

The Moroccan Constitution requires the king to appoint a prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

Since no single party is expected to capture an absolute majority, the winner will need to build a coalition government. Portfolios are split among the political allies, but the palace traditionally keeps key posts such as defense and foreign affairs under royal control.

One possibility for prime minister is Faouzi Lakjaa, president of Morocco’s soccer federation, who recently joined the PAM party and has been buoyed by Morocco’s recent soccer achievements.

Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, 50, mayor of Marrakech and minister of urban planning, is another possibility. If selected, she would be Morocco’s first female prime minister.

A man casts his vote inside a polling station during the legislative elections in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

People cast their vote inside a polling station during the legislative elections in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A man casts his vote inside a polling station during the legislative elections in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A woman casts her vote inside a polling station during the legislative elections in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Moroccan minister, politician and mayor of Marrakech, takes part in an electoral rally for Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) ahead of the upcoming legislative elections, in Tangier, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)