HOUSTON -- Before Yordan Alvarez?blew the roof off Minute Maid Park with his dramatic three-run, walk-off homer to beat the Mariners, 8-7, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday, there were two clutch plate appearances by a pair of Astros rookies.

David Hensley, who pinch-hit in the ninth, reached on a hit-by-pitch, and shortstop Jeremy Pe?a, who was hitless in his first four at-bats, stroked a two-out, two-strike single to center to keep the ninth alive and set the stage for Alvarez to play the hero. The performances by Hensley and Pe?a in the clutch weren¡¯t lost on their Astros teammates, especially pitcher Justin Verlander.

¡°Not to go overlooked here is the first playoff at-bat for Hensley,¡± Verlander said. ¡°Pe?a¡¯s staying on a slider and hitting it back up the middle. What an at-bat that was from a rookie in the biggest at-bat of his career. And, obviously, Yordan is one of, if not the best, hitters in baseball, doing what he does.

¡°Yordan¡¯s going to get all the credit on this one, but us here in the [locker room] after the game, we made sure to mention those guys. Those at-bats were not overlooked here in this clubhouse, and that¡¯s what makes this team so special. It¡¯s not just one person, it¡¯s top to bottom. All guys."

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Hensley, a 26-year-old who made his debut earlier this year, pinch-hit for Mauricio Dub¨®n with one out in the ninth, facing reliever Paul Sewald. He fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before Sewald brushed his jersey with a pitch -- enough for him to take first base, where he was replaced by pinch-runner Jake Meyers.

¡°They told me I was going to get a chance to hit right there, so I came inside and got prepared,¡± Hensley said. ¡°I was talking to the hitting coaches and understanding what he was going to throw, what it was going to look like and doing my best to mentally prepare. I¡¯m feeling pretty good at the plate right now so I got in there ¡­

¡°I wouldn't say there was any pressure, but I would say it was trusting in my abilities and knowing I could get the job done. The way it played out, I think I was a little bit late throughout the at-bat. I don¡¯t know if I was ready. He¡¯s got a weird little arm angle. That¡¯s just exciting, and to help the team win a game like [this], I don¡¯t really have too many words for it.¡±

After Jose Altuve struck out for the second out, it was up to Pe?a to keep Houston¡¯s hopes alive. He fell behind, 0-2, and took a slider for a ball on the third pitch of the at-bat before stroking another slider into center field for a single to put runners at first and second for Alvarez.

¡°The plan was just to get a good pitch to hit, and I fell behind early,¡± Pe?a said. ¡°I swung at a bad pitch, and I knew he was going to double up and die with that pitch, so I made the adjustments.¡±

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman also made sure to give some love to the kids.

¡°Hensley¡¯s a guy who got here in September, and he¡¯s not scared,¡± he said. ¡°He goes up there against one of the better relievers in all of baseball and puts together a great at-bat.¡±

And Pe?a?

¡°He gets down in the count, 1-2, laces a slider up the middle to give Yordan that opportunity,¡± Bregman said. ¡°It's what this team does in the postseason. We try and pass the torch to the next guy and we were fortunate enough we did that today.¡±