The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night in a drama-filled Game 1 of the 2022 World Championships. The Phillies, who came from behind from five games, are now leading 1-0 in their best of seven series. JT Realmuto snatched a home win from Luis Garcia in the 10th game to hand Houston their first loss of the 2022 post-season.
The Astros took an early lead 5-0 behind a pair of Kyle Tucker runs at home. The Astros took Phillies first player Aaron Nola deep in both the second and third halves. Velez made his way back into the game, however, and tied things at 5-5 in the fifth inning against Astros ace Justin Verlander.
The score remained tied headed for the bottom of ninth, when Jose Altov scored and stole a base to put himself in the scoring position. Nick Castellanos then made a great sliding grip to send the game into additional roles. That was when Realmuto came along and the Phillies secured victory (even though the Astros got the scoring win against David Robertson) and steal Game 1 down the road.
Tucker launched two home stages
Kyle Tucker hit twice at home in the first game, He became the first player to make a multiple effort in the World Championships since then Brandon Lowe did it for the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the 2020 Fall Classic.
Tucker’s first home run came in the second half and put the Astros 1-0 up. Houston’s second shot, from three runs, doubled Houston’s lead to 5-0 in the third inning:
Tucker also became the first left-handed player this season To hit a home run against Aaron Nola changeand the fourth player to ever play a Homer in the first two editions of the World Racquet Championships. The previous three are Jane Tenas, Andrew Jones and Pablo Sandoval, Who did this most recently at the 2012 World Championships.
Verlander makes history from the start, but he hits the bullets
Justin Verlander Becomes the second bowler to score a World Championship start in three decades, joining Roger Clemens. The Red Sox ace also previously linked another in a different category, in John Lester, By starting his 12th career in the first game.
Verlander appeared in good shape to score his 16th career win after the season in the first rounds. He didn’t allow the primary sprinter to pass in the first three innings while the Astros built him a five-run lead. But things fell apart in the fourth inning, as five of the six hitters were allowed to reach at one point, closing the difference to 5-3.
Verlander will be given an extra role, but this will prove to be a mistake. Brandon Marsh led with a double, Kyle Schwarber walked, then Alec Boehm scored two goals to tie the match with a score of 5-5. By the time his night was over, Verlander had thrown five innings and allowed five earned runs in six hits and twos.
Despite Verlander’s reputation as a big game captain, he entered the night running 5.68 ERAs in seven world championships. Friday’s performance increased that number to 6.07, the highest mark for any pitcher with at least 30 World Championship runs.
The Phillies scanned a deficit for five times
You have a feeling the Phillies don’t realize they’re not supposed to be here. They were a third-placed team during the regular season and ranked No. 6 in the post-season, the seed that wasn’t there until this year. They were supposed to lose to the Cardinals in the NLDS Wild Card or Braves series. However, here they are at the World Championships.
Apparently no one told the Phillies they were supposed to go quiet after falling 5-0 early in the first game. After Justin Verlander retired in the first 10 players he encountered, seven of the next nine and eight of the next 10 made it to base. At one point, four Phillies in a row made it to base with two hitters in the fourth inning, including Nick Castellanos (single RBI) and Alec Bohm (double RBI double).
According to Inside EdgeThe Phillies racked up three or more hits with two wins on three occasions this postseason after doing the MLB best 27 times during the regular season. All other teams did so three times in total in October.
Philadelphia officially eliminated the 5-0 delay at the top of the fifth inning. Verlander needed 36 pitches to get his first nine and 54 pitches to get his last six. It wasn’t until his last court – No. 90 of the night – that Verlander got a swing and missed the ball break.
Wiping out the deficit in five rounds was only half the battle. The Phillies still had to find a way to push through the sixth inning for a chance to win the match, and they had to do against the excellent Astros bullpen. It wasn’t easy.
Realmuto breaks tie in 10th place
As previously mentioned, Phillies catcher JT Realmuto fired the first World Championship overtime in franchise history in the 10th inning, putting Philadelphia ahead 6-5. This would be the end result. It was also the first extra home run in a World Championship game by a catcher since the Carlton Fisk explosion in 1975.
Realmuto’s home run came from a fast ball thrown by Luis Garcia:
CBS Sports indicated for its entry into the series that Realmuto was the best hitter in the Phillies against fast-rising balls., as offered by Garcia. From the previous article:
During the regular season, Realmuto was Phillies’ top hitter against fastballs with at least 18 inches of induced vertical break—a great way to say bass that deviated from a straight line from the bowler’s hand to the plate by a foot and a half. . Realmuto bats .435/.567/1.130 against those pitches, hitting three home runs, triples, and doubles.
Overall, Realmuto finished the evening 2 for 4 with a pair of basic hits and three runs.
Thompson succeeded very hard
Once they tied the match, Phillies manager Rob Thompson went to his best home almost immediately. Here’s how he used his bulls after Aaron Nola got his first round of the fifth inning:
- Left savior Jose Alvarado entered to face the left-right-left lane of Yordan Alvarez-Alex Bregman-Kyle Tucker with one exit in the fifth. The three Alvarado retired.
- Then rookie-turned-bedroom Zach Evelyn entered with one in sixth to face the bottom of the lineup. He got in four teams and went down around one of the stones and walked.
- Left and third player (and potential starter to Game 3) entered Ranger Suárez with two teams in the seventh inning to take on the Alvarez-Bregman-Tucker lane. He got his first two before Tucker was allowed in with one song.
- Seranthony Domínguez, Phillies’ best savior all year round, replaced Suárez with one in eighth. At that point, the match was on the line with every throw, so Thompson went as best he could. Domínguez got five points.
- David Robertson, Thompson’s best remaining loyalist, got the 10th inning after Realmuto’s home run. The second and third runners are stranded to close out the match.
Thompson used his bulls rule aggressively but also not in a way that would jeopardize anyone’s availability in the second game. Alvarado threw only seven, Evelyn 20, Dominguez 24, and Robertson 25. Nothing is as extreme as 30-40 throws. Suarez threw 11 throws and should be able to start Match 3 on Monday without issues. Thomson’s bullpen use was balanced—aggressive but not reckless.
Five of the Phillies’ holdouts resulted in the Astros pinning four strokes and two runs in 5 2/3 runs. Philadelphia had a chance to steal the first game on the road and claim the land field advantage, and Thompson went for it. He used his best shooters available in the game’s biggest spots and didn’t make it for tomorrow, and his reward is a 1-0 lead in a series.
The Phillies ended Houston’s winning streak
Going into Game 1, the Astros were a perfect 7-0 in this post-season. They swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS and the New York Yankees in the ALCS before falling to the Phillies in Game 1. Their seven consecutive postseason start-up wins were less than an all-time record. Here is the list:
- 2014 Royals: 8 wins
- 2022 Astros: 7 victories
- 2020 brave: 7 victories
- Rockies 2007: 7 victories
- 2017 Dodgers: 6 victories
- Cleveland 2016: 6 victories
It should be noted that the five non-Astros teams on that list did not win the World Championships. Presentiment? Maybe, but I’ll say this a lot: I’d rather win the first seven games after the season than not win. Houston’s winning streak is over, but the world championship is not. They are fully capable of beating Philadelphia four times in the next six games.
next one
Game Two: Historically, teams that have won the first game out of the top seven have won the match 64 percent of the time, even though the winner of Game 1 has won both the last four world championships and 16 of the last 19 world championships. Then again, there may be a higher power at work:
Kyle Schwarber gave free American tacos with his stolen seventh base. Anyway, Game 2 is Saturday night at Minute Maid Park. Lefty Framber Valdez (17-6, 2.82 ERA) and righty Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) are the scheduled starting pitchers.
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