Phillies overturn 5-series deficit, stun Astros to win World Series | MLB Baseball

HOUSTON — While Philadelphia catcher JT Realmuta was the hero of the offense with a pair of critical extra-base hits, Rob Thomson’s managerial acumen combined with exceptional play by the Philadelphia bullpen helped shape a well-rounded performance in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

Realmuta hit a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning as the Phillies erased a five-run deficit to beat the Houston Astros 6-5 in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

Realmuto drilled a 97.5 mph fastball from Astros shortstop Luis Garcia (1-1) just behind Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker’s jumper. The Phillies handed Houston their first loss of the postseason and take a 1-0 lead into the best-of-seven series in Game 2 on Saturday.

Philadelphia became the first team to win a five-run World Series after the Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants in Game 6 of the 2002 Fall Classic. That Giants team was managed by Dusty Baker, now the manager of the Astros.

Tucker gave Houston a 5-0 lead by homering in his first two at-bats. His leadoff throw right off Phillies starter Aaron Nola keyed a two-run second inning. His three-run, 395-footer moved Nola to right-center in the third off Jeremy Penn and Alex Bregman and made Tucker the first player in club history with a multi-homer game in the World Series.

However, the Phillies mounted a rally against Astros starter Justin Verlander in the fourth. Rhys Hoskins singled with one out and advanced to third when Bryce Harper singled with two outs.

Nick Castellanos’ single to left scored Hoskins and Alec Bohm followed with a two-run single to left that cut the deficit to 5-3. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Phillies gained momentum.

“You know, I think when we hit three, (we) felt it,” Thomson said. “Like, ‘Okay, we’re back at it, now the momentum has changed.’ And that’s why I went to (Jose) Alvarado in the fifth inning, which I haven’t done all year, because I thought the momentum that changed there was very important to keep that momentum going, get through those guys and we’ll figure out the rest. later.”

Verlander needed 31 pitches to complete the fourth inning. Four batters into the fifth, the Phillies pulled even at 5-5 when Realmut smoked a double to left-center field that scored Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber, who doubled and walked, respectively, to open the frame.

“They’re a good offensive club,” Baker said. “I mean, we knew we could hit — we know they can hit when we came in here and they’re known for that. They just took it away from us tonight.”

Nola and Verlander allowed five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five batters. Verlander lasted five innings, while Nola finished after 4 1/3 innings.

Starting with subbing Nola for Alvarado, Thomson made an impact. Every reliever he’s called out of the bullpen has delivered in a game he was supposed to win, from left-hander Alvarado to right-hander Zach Eflin to left-hander Ranger Suarez, who was slated to start Game 3 on Monday.

“From top to bottom, the bullpen has been phenomenal for us,” Realmuto said. “I thought when Rob brought in … Alvarado early in the game in a big spot like that, I thought that was the key in the game.”

Philadelphia right-hander Serantani Dominguez (2-0) struck out three of the six batters he faced. David Robertson earned his first save of the postseason, getting around Bregman’s one-out, two-out double by Yuli Gurriel in the 10th inning.

The Astros had the tying run on third and the game-winning run on second in the 10th when pinch hitter Aledmys Diaz found himself on third base for the final out.

It was a stunning loss for the top seed in the American League, a shocking defeat with the Astros’ ace on the mound holding a five-run lead.

“Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” said Verlander, who is 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight World Series starts. “I need to do better. No excuses. Like I said, just need to get better at pitching. I felt like I had some guys in good situations and I just couldn’t make the pitch that I wanted to.”

–MoiseKapenda Bower, Field Level Media