Justin Verlander overcame an early jolt to grit out the World Sequence win that lengthy eluded him, rookie Jeremy Pena hit a go-ahead house run and the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Thursday evening to move house with a 3-2 lead.
Buoyed by late defensive gems from Trey Mancini and Chas McCormick, the Astros moved to the brink of their second championship the opposite was a scandal-tainted title in 2017.
Houston went forward simply 4 pitches in in opposition to Noah Syndergaard on Pena’s run-scoring single. Then Philly’s Kyle Schwarber homered main off the underside half, harkening to the five-run lead Verlander wasted in Houston’s opening 6-5, 10-inning loss.
Pena had three hits, together with an RBI single within the first and an eighth-inning single that arrange Yordan Alvarez’s run-scoring groundout. He made a leaping catch at shortstop to foil the Phillies within the third, then regained the lead an inning later along with his fourth postseason homer. He’s the primary rookie shortstop ever to go deep within the Fall Traditional.
After Jean Segura’s one-out RBI single off Rafael Montero within the eighth, Ryan Pressly escaped a first-and-third jam by placing out Brandon Marsh and Schwarber on an almost 100mph one-hopper that was snagged over first base by Mancini. The backup first baseman had pinch hit within the high half after 2021 Gold Glove winner Yuli Gurriel obtained right into a collision throughout a rundown. Mancini fell into foul territory and reached again along with his left foot to the touch the bag.
Pressly completed for a five-out save. McCormick made a leaping backhand catch in opposition to the chain-link fence in right-center on JT Realmuto for the second out of the ninth. After Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch, Nick Castellanos grounded out, ending a 3hr 57min thriller.
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