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World Series Game 5: Astros nose ahead of Phillies on Peña’s third-inning home run – live! | World Series

Key events

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 5th inning

Harper is up next. Verlander throws three straight four-seamers to put Harper in a 1-2 hole. Of course, Harper is dangerous in any count. Harper checks his swing on the next pitch. 2-2. On his next pitch, he smacks the ball into right field for a double. Verlander’s not out of the inning yet.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 5th inning

Realmuto takes a first pitch strike and then waves and misses on the next pitch. 0-2. Verlander’s next pitch is a ball that’s meant to catch him fishing, which he does not do. 1-2. Realmuto fouls off the fourth pitch of the at-bat. Still 1-2. Verlander throws some high heat, 97 mph according to the radar gun, but Realmuto doesn’t chase.

But he chases the next one. That’s the sixth strikeout. Has Verlander gotten stronger as the game has gone on?

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 5th inning

Verlander is back out in the fifth, as expected. Hoskins is up for Philly. He strikes out looking for Verlander’s fifth k of the game.

Meanwhile in Houston, the Eagles’ unbeaten record is potentially in danger. The Eagles and Texans are tied 14-14 at the half.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 5th inning

Maldonado takes a ball, fouls of a pitch, swings and misses and then swings and misses again. That was quick! To the bottom of the fifth! We’re halfway through regulation in Philadelphia, but let’s remember that there’s always the chance of extra innings.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 5th inning

McCormick is out before I can even look up from my computer to see that he’s at-bat. Play-by-play indicates that he has grounded out to third. Next up, Martin Maldonado.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 5th inning

Brogdon is back out there for his second inning of work. Hensley fouls off the first two pitches he sees from the Phillies reliever. The rail-thin Brogdon throws a changeup outside and then gets Hensley to bite on a changeup in the zone for a strikeout.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 4th inning

It needs to be noted that Kyle Schwarber’s walk-up song is “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour and that is 100% one of the reasons he’s been one of the most dangerous bats in baseball this year. Verlander gets ahead of him 1-2 but Schwarber sharply takes a ball just outside. 2-2.

And Verlander locates a curve and Schwarber knows that he’s been beaten on that one. A 1-2-3 inning for Verlander who just needs one more clean inning to be in line for his first World Series win.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 4th inning

Brandon Marsh and his extremely Alan Moore-esque beard are up next. He takes a strike and then a ball. 1-1. He takes a mighty cut. Nothing doing. 1-2. Verlander paints the corner with a 97 mph and that’s a strikeout and the second out of the inning.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom 4th inning

Verlander is up again on the fourth and he’s now officially in line for a possible World Series win. Is today the day? He gets Segura to ground out to short. That won’t hurt his cause.

Email from Fred Miller:

Thank you!

I live in the mountains of Montana without tv or radio, nice to follow the game online.

I’m a long time Astros fan.

Thanks for reading. I imagine that the last inning has been the most enjoyable one to read about so far.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 4th inning

Gurriel is up next to see if he can extend the inning, but he falls behind 1-2. Phillies fans rise and this time they do actually get Brogdon to strike Gurriel out. The inning’s over, but Houston has the lead.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 4th inning

In an 0-1 count, Tucker hits a long foul home run off of Brogdon who clearly is having some issues here. Thankfully for him, it counts just as strike one.

Tucker then looks at strike two. 1-2. Tucker takes a pitch. 2-2. Tucker lunges for the next pitch and can’t reach it. He strikes out, so the Phillies are an out away from escaping the inning without further damage.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 4th inning

Alex Bregman hits a ringing double that just barely misses being a home run thanks to the Citizens Bank Park fences in left. So, still just one out and a runner on second now.

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 4th inning

Connor Brogdon is out now. He gets Álvarez in a 0-2 hole. Hope this goes better than the last time. Brogdon’s next two pitches are outside but Álvarez tries to connect on a high ball and fails. That’s one out in the inning.

Maybe the Phillies shouldn’t have brought Syndergaard out to start the fourth. Well his outing is now officially over and he was just one pitch away from giving the Phillies everything they could have hoped from him. They needed just one more strike. Now, the Phillies have to work from behind once again.

Home run! (Astros) Astros 2-1 Phillies

Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 4th inning

Top of the fourth, we have Peña up to face Syndergaard, in what definitely will be his last inning. Syndergaard gets ahead of the Houston shortstop 0-2. Peña fouls the next pitch off. Still 0-2. The next pitch is outside. 1-2. The next pitch is a sinker that is too low. Syndergaard’s next pitch is… out of here! Peña has given the Astros the lead with a home run!

Wondering if the Philadelphia Eagles will remain undefeated and do not have access to the game. (It’s on Amazon Prime after all.) Right now the score is tied: Eagles 7-7 Texans. So, it’s basically the same situation as here in World Series Game 5. Plenty of tension in Philly right now.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 3rd inning

Let’s see what Bryson Stott has got. Nothing, it turns out. He flies out on the first pitch he sees.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 3rd inning

Alec Bohm is up now with two out and Harper planted at first base. Bohm takes a ball and then swings and misses at a slider. 1-1. Bohm hits a solid single and now it’s runners on first and second.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 3rd inning

Castellanos is back up and he flies out right to Peña who makes a web gem for the out.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 3rd inning

Harper is up and, thanks to a favorable check-swing call, he gets ahead of the count 2-1. He fouls the next pitch off. 2-2. He takes a close pitch. 3-2. A good at-bat here. He takes ball four and takes his base.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 3rd inning

Realmuto is up, he takes a strike and then a ball. 1-1. One foul ball later, it’s 1-2. He holds off on the next pitch. 2-2. And he swings and misses. That’s Verlander’s second strikeout of the game.

Is this a tribute montage to the Phanatic? Honestly, overdue.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 3rd inning

Maybe Syndergaard could come out in the fourth inning if he can make quick work of Altuve.

Altuve takes a first-pitch ball. 1-0. The next pitch? Altuve takes a strike. 1-1. The next pitch, Altuve is hacking and he hacks this one foul. 2-2. On the next pitch, he hits a chopper to the infield that the Phillies handle smoothly for the third out of the inning.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 3rd inning

Martin Maldonado is up next, he flies out on a 2-2 offering.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 3rd inning

Chas McCormick lines out for the first out of the third inning, most likely Syndergaard’s last.

Yes, I might have just watched the commercial for the new Spielberg movie with rapt attention looking for any hint of the rumored David Lynch cameo but I promise you that I’m not distracted here.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 2nd inning

With bases loaded and two out, Rhys Hoskins is heading to the plate with an opportunity to make major damage. He’s maybe a little too eager as he takes a big swing at a pitch that seems outside for strike one. 0-1. He fouls off the next pitch. 0-2. Verlander has a good chance of escaping his self-created jam. He throws a ball outside. Hoskins doesn’t offer. 1-2. The next pitch gets away from Verlander. 2-2. On the next pitch, Hoskins extends himself and that’s exactly what Verlander wanted him to do. He strikes out and that’s the end of the Philadelphia threat.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 2nd inning

Verlander throws a beauty of a curve for strike one on Schwarber. 0-1. The next curveball is just outside. 1-1. The next pitch is way, way upstairs. 2-1. The next pitch is much closer to the zone, but still gets called a ball. 3-1. Another breaking ball, far away, and the bases are now loaded.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 2nd inning

Verlander throws two balls to Brandon Marsh. This already is the most patient at-bat of the inning. On 2-0, Marsh fouls a ball off. 2-1. The next pitch? That’s too high. 3-1. The next pitch is… also a ball. That’s now two baserunners for Kyle Schwarber.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 2nd inning

Jean Segura immediately hits a single. Verlander is getting quick results here if nothing else.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 2nd inning

Verlander faces Alex Bohm who pops up to third immediately. And then Bryson Stott pops up to short.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 2nd inning

David Hensley is up next, taking a pitch for a strike. And then swinging and missing at the next pitch. That’s a real quick 0-2 count there and the fans rise up to will a strikeout. Hensley swings and fouls off Syndergaard’s next pitch to stay alive. Still 0-2. Hensley takes a ball outside. 1-2. Hensley fouls off another pitch. Still 1-2. On the next pitch however, the pitcher once called Thor gets his fourth strikeout in two innings.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 2nd inning

Yuli Gurriel is up and then he’s down as he pops up to Realmuto at catcher.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, top 2nd inning

Kyle Tucker, whose mammoth Game 1 performance came for naught, is up next. Syndergaard’s first pitch is a changeup that Tucker fouls off. 0-1. The next pitch is a ball. 1-1. As is the next pitch. 2-1. Syndergaard gets a strike. 2-2. Tucker tries to check his swing on the next pitch but can’t and gets himself out.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 1st inning

Nick Castellanos is up next and he falls behind 0-2 and then flies out for the final out. A lot happened in this first inning, but we’re tied 1-1. This might be a back-and-forth type of affair.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 1st inning

And Verlander now faces Harper, who gets some “MVP” chants from the Philly Phaithful. Bryce fouls his first pitch off and then sees a fastball that’s called a ball. The next pitch he sees is called similarly. 2-1. The next pitch is too tall. 3-1. Imagine that Harper has the green light here.

Instead, he takes a strike looking. Full count. On 3-2, Harper takes a ball for the first walk of the game.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 1st inning

J.T. Realmuto is out and promptly falls behind 0-2. After taking a ball, Realmuto skies one up to Altuve on the infield for the second out of the inning.

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 1st inning

Ryan Hoskins is up now. He gets good wood at a 1-2 pitch but it’s caught by the Astros in left field.

Home run! (Phillies) Astros 1-1 Phillies

Astros 1-1 Phillies, bottom 1st inning

Justin Verlander is back out there and while he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer no matter what, it would be nice for him to have a World Series win in his achievement column.

Well this certainly won’t help. Kyle Schwarber takes the second pitch he sees from him and deposits it into right field for a game-tying home run.

Astros 1-0 Phillies, top 1st inning

And Syndergaard gets Alex Bregman to strike out on three pitches. That could have been a lot worse for the Phillies, instead they allow the leadoff semi-triple to score but then immediately shut the Astros down.

Astros 1-0 Phillies, top 1st inning

Still nobody out, with a runner on first. Here comes Yordan Álvarez. Álvarez works a full count. On 3-2, he fouls a pitch off and then throws to first to keep Peña honest. On the next pitch, he manages to get a strike out and then throw out Peña. So now there are two out and nobody on.

RBI Single (Astros) Astros 1-0 Phillies

Astros 1-0 Phillies, top 1st inning

And Peña immediately singles in Altuve. The good-ish news? It’s an unearned run, because Altuve was credited for a double with an error on Marsh.

Astros 0-0 Phillies, top 1st inning

And Altuve hits the next pitch he sees for a leadoff triple. Philadelphia is in danger already.

First pitch

Astros 0-0 Phillies, top 1st inning

Noah Syndergaard is out but it might be a short outing for him as this could be more of a bullpen game. Jose Altuve, per usual, is leading off. Syndergaard’s first pitch is just outside…

Oh wow, the Phillies brought in Meek Mill to hype up the crowd. He joins up with the Phillie Phanatic on a quick zip around the ballpark on his cart. Can I switch my prediction?

Nah, it’s too late.

Okay, first pitch is scheduled within minutes. Game 5 proper is about to begin.

I mean, there probably was a more original way to indicate that the game is taking place in Philadelphia than playing the “Theme From Rocky,” but sometimes the classics are best.

If Justin Verlander never wins a game in the World Series will this impact his legacy in any serious way as FOX commentators desperately want you to believe?

No.

Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup

1. Kyle Schwarber, LF

2. Rhys Hoskins, 1B

3. J.T. Realmuto, C

4. Bryce Harper, DH

5. Nick Castellanos, RF

6. Alec Bohm, 3B

7. Bryson Stott, SS

8. Jean Segura, 2B

9. Brandon Marsh, CF

Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard

Houston Astros starting lineup

1. Jose Altuve, 2B

2. Jeremy Peña, SS

3. Yordan Álvarez, LF

4. Alex Bregman, 3B

5. Kyle Tucker, RF

6. Yuli Gurriel, 1B

7. David Hensley, DH

8. Chas McCormick, CF

9. Martín Maldonado, C

Pitcher: Justin Verlander

Also, in the NFL we have a related story. The unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles are looking to keep up their perfect record and they are facing—of all teams—the Houston Texans. That means this could either be one of the greatest sports days in Philadelphia history or potentially one of the most catastrophic!

Predictions

I was going to have the Phillies rebounding after being no-hit and taking a series lead over the Astros. Obviously, at this point, my original “Houston in 5” prediction is not possible barring various time travel shenanigans so there’s no reason to try to salvage it.

However, the Phillies have decided to change their fortunes by switching up and wearing garish powder blue uniforms so I feel like they should lose tonight on principle: throwback uniforms should be thrown back. Astros 6-1 Phillies.

I will predict that this is going to reach a Game 7 and the Phillies will manage to win tomorrow but we’ll talk about that on Saturday. Today is all about Game 5 predictions. Who takes the crucial 3-2 World Series lead? How does it happen? Feel free to send your thoughts and analysis here, either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (to @HunterFelt).

How did the Phillies find themselves no-hit? While I’m not one to believe in curses but if Philadelphia doesn’t manage another win in this series, I think we’re going to have to put the blame on Wawa and the Curse of the Uneaten Sandwiches

How did we get here?

Since we’re now five games deep into the World Series, today’s coverage might benefit from a quick recap. Also, you can double-check and relive our previous liveblogs, in case you want the full play-by-play.

Game 1. Phillies 6-5 Astros. In Game 1, the Phillies stunned the Astros by recovering from a 5-0 deficit to hand Houston its first defeat in the playoffs.

Game 2. Phillies 2-5 Astros. In Game 2, the Phillies couldn’t rally back from a 5-0 deficit, which is usually how that plays out. With the win, the Astros tied up the series 1-1.

(Then it rained.)

Game 3: Astros 0-7 Phillies. In Game 3, the series moved from Minute Maid Park to Citizens Bank Park, which ended up working out in favor of the Phillies who played home run derby to take a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4. Astros 5-0 Phillies. It looked like Philadelphia had Houston on the ropes, but the Astros simply decided to not allow the Phillies to get a single hit. Now the series is tied 2-2 and, given the way these first four games have played out, it’s really hard to get any sense of what could possibly happen next.

Where to watch Game 2 of the World Series

Just so that we’re on the same page heading in, here’s how to watch Game 5 of the 2022 World Series.

In the US, it’s airing live on FOX. If you don’t mind baseball on the radio, or prefer it to the FOX commentators, you could also listen on your local ESPN Radio affiliate or, barring that, ESPNradio.com. In the UK, you can screen it on BT Sports starting in roughly 40 minutes or so and online through the BT Sports app.

Preamble

This will not be a short series. In the big picture of things, that’s the most obvious takeaway from yesterday’s Game 4. The Phillies, unbeaten at home, had just pounded the Houston Astros 7-0 and taken a 2-1 series lead, threatening to make this a rather short-lived World Series. Momentum was on their side, but the Astros pitching staff was decidedly against them.

Instead, Cristian Javier and relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly combined to pitch the second no-hitter in World Series history even if it might have felt a bit anticlimactic to some. The combined no-hitter simply doesn’t have the same mythology of the idea of a lone pitcher shutting down an entire team by himself.

One doubts that the Astros are losing that much sleep on how their way of winning the game may have been unsatisfying for old-school baseball fans. What matters to them is that they have tied the series up 2-2 and are guaranteed to at least bring the World Series back to Minute Maid Park at the bare minimum.

Now, it’s time for the Phillies to respond. Will their bats wake up after being put to sleep in Game 4? Will their starter Noah Syndergaard keep the Astros off the board? Or will Houston starter Justin Verlander finally win the first World Series game of his Hall of Fame career?

Baseball history could turn on the answer to these questions, which sounds a bit overdramatic but is just a mathematical reality. The loser of tonight’s game will have to win their next two if they want to win a championship, while the winner will need one victory. It feels like the World Series could effectively be decided tonight.

As always, if you want to contribute to our liveblog, we encourage it. You can email us at hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet us at @HunterFelt and we’ll post your World Series thoughts here for all to see. It’s Game 5 of the 2022 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. In theory, we’ll start at 8:03 pm EST but we’ll be back blogging well before that.

Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Houston’s series-tying, history-making win in Game 4.



https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2022/nov/03/world-series-game-5-philadelphia-phillies-v-houston-astros-live-latest-score World Series Game 5: Astros nose ahead of Phillies on Peña’s third-inning home run – live! | World Series

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